Tottenham signed Moussa Sissoko from Newcastle at the start of the season and even though the Frenchman was great for the national side in Euro 2016, he hasn’t been great for Spurs. Mauricio Pochettino was also looking to sign another former Newcastle star, Georginio, Wijnaldum, but the Dutchman chose Anfield over White Hart Lane this season.
The attacking midfielder moved to Liverpool after just one season at Newcastle and the 25-year-old was certainly in demand in the off-season. Speaking to the Guardian, the Holland international said it was off-field talk that helped him make the decision to move to the team that plays in red.
“I had great conversations with [Mauricio] Pochettino and Klopp.
“But in the meeting with Jürgen we had a laugh and did not speak only about football. He was interested in my personal life and that was good for me. He was not only interested in Wijnaldum the footballer but Wijnaldum the person.
“When you’re not out on the football field you have to communicate as people and it is good if you know something about how the other person is. It makes things easier.”
A tale of two former Newcastle stars
Wijnaldum was one of the star players for Newcastle last season and even though he plays in an attacking role for the Magpies, Klopp has used him in a more withdrawn role. There is now a greater onus on defending for the team but Wijnaldum does make those runs into the box and links up with the Liverpool attack as well.
The 25-year-old has become a regular for the side and has been performing really well for the side. That cannot be said about Sissoko, who also moved from Newcastle this season. The French midfielder cost more than Wijnaldum but hasn’t really shown why Pochettino paid £30million for the 27-year-old.
Tottenham haven’t really struggled in the Premier League but their performances in the Champions League have been dire and that has partly been down to playing at Wembley. Nevertheless, fingers will be pointed at the management for not bringing in Wijnaldum from Newcastle when they had Champions League football to offer.
Wijnaldum did say that the Liverpool manager spoke about things outside football but it could have been that Pochettino wasn’t really all that keen on the Dutch midfielder. If this was the case, then the Argentine seems to have made a big mistake in bringing Sissoko to White Hart Lane.
There were many who questioned the logic of bringing the French midfielder here and with the performances not being up to the mark, Sissoko could turn out to be another expensive dud for Pochettino.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmmxHx7Ny5A
