Moussa Sissoko has revealed that he never wanted to quit Tottenham during his tough first two seasons with the club.
Spurs signed Sissoko, 29, for £30million from Newcastle on deadline day in August 2016, but the midfielder has only really become a key part of Mauricio Pochettino’s first team squad this term having had to deal with major criticism and seriously bad form in his first two years in North London.
Sissoko claims that talking with his agent everyday helped him get through his 24-month-long rut at Tottenham and believes that has helped him better himself both on and off the pitch.
“I can also say the level here is higher than it was at Toulouse and Newcastle, the competition for places greater and I have become a better player. Not just a better player, a better man,” Sissoko told the Telegraph.
He added: “I learnt: ‘I can complain, but I have no right to complain’. That’s what I mean by becoming a better man.
“But I never thought I wanted to leave or would leave. Since I have been playing football my agent has been my uncle [Bakari Sanogo] and we speak nearly every day. He said ‘maybe you are having a difficult time right now but you are capable of doing better. Stay calm, keep working and do what you have to do and it will change’. And that’s what I have done. We can say I was right to do that.”
OPINION
It may have taken some time for Sissoko to get up to speed with things at Tottenham, but it was definitely worth the wait as the Frenchman has been one of the best players in Pochettino’s squad this season. He has made 27 appearances in all competitions for Spurs this term and has occupied the role that Mousa Dembele has freed up due to the Belgian’s injury issues followed up by his January exit to China. Sissoko is now undroppable from this team, and if you told a Spurs fan that would happen 12 months ago, they would not have believed you. Pochettino really has worked his magic on the former Newcastle player, and credit also has to go to his agent, who appears to have played a major role in helping him get his head down and work hard. Hopefully Sissoko’s form can continue until the end of this season with the Premier League title race hotting up over the last couple of weeks.