Tottenham’s Moussa Sissoko continues to be an appreciated element in his club’s squad and that of his national team, even if he’s not always on the pitch for them.
The 31-year-old has played 22 Premier League matches for Spurs so far this season, with Jose Mourinho using him in a substitute role in the competition recently.
That didn’t stop Didier Deschamps from calling up Sissoko for the current international break. He wasn’t given any minutes against Ukraine, and then got eight in the 2-0 victory over Kazakhstan, and will be hoping for more against Bosnia-Herzegovina on Wednesday evening.
L’Equipe have a feature on the Tottenham player, and they quote someone close to him saying the midfielder “plays a real role of a big brother”, especially to the younger players in the France squad.
Previous coaches have called him ‘the ultimate soldier’, and Deschamps said of his player, following post-match training after the Kazakhstan clash: “He gives, he gives, he is greatly appreciated by his teammates and feared by his opponents.”
This attitude, and the positivity that Sissoko brings is important when it comes to Deschamps selecting his squad. Unfortunately for the Tottenham player, it didn’t work for the 2018 World Cup selection, and he’ll be hoping it’s different for the Euros this summer.
