Playing far more this season than he did during the last campaign under Mauricio Pochettino, Moussa Sissoko is in a good position to be in Didier Deschamps’ France squad travelling to Russia in the summer for the World Cup.
Some might say the Tottenham midfielder’s spot was always guaranteed, considering he seems to always be selected, even when his club form hasn’t been the greatest.
However, in an interview with SFR Sport on Tuesday night, Deschamps was keen to dispel this idea that Sissoko is a ‘teacher’s pet’, adamant the Spurs man is in his squads on merit alone.
He said: “Yes (it’s a bit disrespectful), because he deserves it. You just have to watch the Euros, the final, what he can do, and before the final too. Of course, if you ask him to be Kylian Mbappé or Kingsley Coman, he’s not the same player.
“He’s not a teacher’s pet. I appreciate him. Moussa is the definition of a soldier. He was Alain Casanova’s soldier at Toulouse. He’s Pochettino’s now, even if it was a bit more complicated at the start. He gives everything.”
The 28-year-old has already made 36 appearances in all competitions for Tottenham this season, and already surpassed the amount of minutes he featured in during the last campaign.
With a large pool of midfielders for Deschamps to choose from ahead of the World Cup, he’ll need every bit of football he can get to show he deserves to be there.
