Ange Postecoglou already knows £43m Tottenham solution to Yves Bissouma problem.
Latest Tottenham news with a major solution for Ange Postecoglou emerging on how he can help Yves Bissouma return to form.
Ange Postecoglou may have the perfect fix for Yves Bissouma when he returns to action for Tottenham which could be in February. The 27-year-old is set to be absent for the first month of 2024 as he competes in the Africa Cup of Nations with Mali, however he will now also miss the remaining fixtures in December.
For the second time this season, Bissouma was shown a Premier League red card with his latest coming in Friday’s 2-0 win against Nottingham Forest. Spurs were firmly in control when Bissouma lost possession in his own half before lunging at Ryan Yates in an attempt to win the ball back which initially resulted in a caution being handed out.
VAR then intervened with referee Jarred Gillett choosing to upgrade his punishment from a yellow to red card with Bissouma now having to serve a four-match suspension as its his second dismissal of the season. Therefore, he will miss games against Everton, Brighton, Bournemouth and Burnley in the FA Cup with that final clash arriving on January 5, 2024 just over a week before he heads to AFCON.
The Lilywhites also face Manchester United and Brentford in January with Bissouma likely to miss both if Mali reach the knockout stages which commence on January, 27. While Bissouma only picked up one yellow card in the six games played following his October sending off against Luton, after accumulating four cautions in seven appearances, his form has been suffering.
An individual error from Bissouma very nearly cost Spurs at Etihad Stadium against Manchester City along with mixed displays in defeats to Wolves and West Ham. Given he may not feature for Spurs for over a month, time spent away from the starting XI could do him some good and a major injury return will hopefully coincide with the midfielder rediscovering his best form.
Micky van de Ven, signed from Wolfsburg for £43million in the summer, suffered a hamstring injury during the 4-1 defeat to Chelsea November with Spurs going on to lose four out of their following five games. The pace of van de Ven is crucial to Postecoglou’s high line but how his absence has potentially affected Bissouma is certainly interesting.
Losing possession in dangerous areas has become the norm as of late for Bissouma and that is because neither Cristian Romero or Ben Davies are able to carry out the ball how van de Ven does. His error against Man City evidenced this clearly as he was attempting to dribble his way out of trouble in the left-back position only to have his pocket picked with Spurs then conceding just a few seconds later.
As a result of van de Ven’s absence, Destiny Udogie has been forced to try and be that driving force from defence and thus he is no longer beside Bissouma when Spurs attempt to play through the lines. The Dutch defender could return in January after recently returning to outdoor training at Hotspur Way, although he is yet to join up with the squad.
James Maddison, who also went off injured against Chelsea, is currently in Dubai as part of his rehabilitation from an ankle issue with the creative midfielder said to have completed some treadmill session earlier this week.
