Tottenham ‘miracle’ turns into something of a nightmare, tricky for Pochettino

 

On Friday L’Equipe reported Moussa Sissoko’s inclusion for France against Sweden that night was ‘akin to a miracle’.

They continued, saying Didier Deschamps picking the Tottenham player could be viewed as an ‘injustice’ and was a ‘gamble’.

Sissoko’s first season under Mauricio Pochettino has been poor, and the midfielder has openly talked about an exit. Therefore, Deschamps counting on the player for France is a good thing for Tottenham, as it keeps the player’s value artificially high.

However, matches like the one against Sweden don’t help. L’Equipe make it very clear in a new Saturday article, that the gamble didn’t pay off. On a night he had to impress, Sissoko was graded 3 out of 10, as France lost to a late Sweden goal, with the scoreline not over flattering the Swedes.

The French newspaper say whilst Sissoko was not the ‘main fault’ for the defeat, that honour goes to Hugo Lloris, Deschamps’ decision didn’t work. A lack of football at Tottenham showed, and it all further underlined a transfer is needed.

It’s a tricky situation for Pochettino and Tottenham. Sissoko playing for France is good, it’s a shop window, but Sissoko playing poorly for France is clearly bad.

An ideal scenario would see the Spurs outcast have a stormer against England on Tuesday, and persuade a Premier League club to shell out £20m+ on him, but Deschamps is now under even more pressure over what is seen as Sissoko favouritism.