Moussa Sissoko has confessed that he almost left Tottenham at the end of last season and further went on to reveal how Mauricio Pochettino convinced him to stay.
Joining the Lilywhites for a then club-record £30m fee from Newcastle United, Sissoko endured a hellish time in his first season at the club. And for all right reasons, he was dropped from Didier Deschamps’ France squad back in March which slotted his future, with the club under heavy scrutiny. With the World Cup soon approaching, Sissoko wanted regular first-team football, but judging by the form he was in, Pochettino dropped him, and rightly so.
The new season, however, saw Sissoko coming out of the ashes and looking rejuvenated, which saw him feature in all of Tottenham’s Premier League games. It was against Huddersfield that Sissoko scored his first ever Premier League goal for Tottenham. Now, he has revealed that he thought about leaving the club this summer, and that Pochettino, during the club’s post-season trip to Hong Kong, persuaded him to stay put. He believes that he’s made the right choice.
“I thought about it at the end of last season with my agent and we decided that the best thing was to stay here with a year until the World Cup, even though I didn’t play too much last season,” Sissoko said.
“I’m not the first nor the last player to have a difficult first season at a new club and we thought everything was in place for me to flourish at Tottenham. Today, I tell myself, of course, that it was the right choice.
“My relationship with Pochettino is the simple one between coach and player. He talks to me to explain things on the pitch, to explain how to play. Sometimes there are discussions about things outside of football. We have quite a simple interaction, like with most of the players. The small discussion took place at the end of last season during a tournament in Hong Kong.“I wanted to know more about my future and about how things would go in the new season. We had a talk, everything was clear for me and for him. After that, we made the choice to stay at Tottenham.”
His rejuvenation earned him a spot in the France team for the World Cup qualifiers and addressing the same, he says his determination of never giving up earned him this call-up.
“I’ve been rewarded for my work, my efforts and my desire not to give up on anything.
“The national team coach has always been clear about the fact that players must have a minimum of playing time and play well to be called up.
“I’m back and I’m happy to be so. It’s up to me to take advantage, enjoy it with my team-mates and to contribute to qualifying for the World Cup by playing well.”
Let’s hope Sissoko fulfills his huge potential at Tottenham.
