Tottenham midfielder Moussa Sissoko is obviously happy that he’s returning to prominence under Mauricio Pochettino, and getting minutes which allow Didier Deschamps to pick him for France.
Deschamps is a big fan of Sissoko and has been for some time, but even he struggled to justify the player’s continued presence in France’s squad without minutes on the pitch for Tottenham Hotspur.
A summer move was seen as nailed on, but a lack of clubs coming forward with serious offers, attractive to both Spurs and Sissoko, meant the pair were stuck with each other.
Making the best of the situation, Pochettino is now getting more out of Sissoko, but the Frenchman doesn’t believe he’s putting more in, just that his efforts are now being rewarded.
Speaking to L’Equipe, Sissoko was asked by the French newspaper if felt criticism over his national team selections, and subsequent performances, had been unfair: “As a form of injustice, yes. But that’s part of the job, I deal with it and it doesn’t bother me more than that. I know that if I do a good game, they’ll say that I’m the best and if I do a bad performance, they’ll wonder if I should have been called up. So I do not pay attention to it. I, like the coach or my teammates, know what I am worth and what I can bring to the team.”
Sissoko was then asked if his recall to the France squad, due to more Tottenham minutes, gave him a sense of revenge: “To whom? (Laughter.) I’m just happy to be back. It is up to me to do everything to be better than the previous time. I am back because I deserve it because of my qualities or what I did on the pitch. I’m here to help a collective achieve its goals.”
It’s clear that Sissoko feels he’s where he belongs, in the French set-up, and also getting what he deserves at Tottenham.
