Bundesliga expert Daniel Pinder has told This is Futbol that he has doubts over Ryan Sessegnon’s suitability to play as a left-back for Tottenham Hotspur once his loan spell at Hoffenheim is over.
The former Fulham starlet joined Spurs for £25m in 2019 but his development has somewhat stalled at the north London club.
A versatile presence who has played at left-back and on the left wing throughout his fledgling career, Sessegnon has made just 12 appearances for Spurs in total.
Should Ryan Sessegnon be a first-team regular for Spurs next season?
No, he's not good enough
Yes, he's a class player
He was loaned to Hoffenheim at the start of the season and has gone on to make 26 appearances for the club, scoring twice and laying on two assists.
However, he has made just 18 starts and Pinder, who is the editor at Get German Football News, believes that he is better suited to playing further forward, having begun his time at the club as a left wing-back.
More recently for Hoffenheim, he has played as a left midfielder, but Pinder has not been impressed, and does not think that the club will try to keep him once his loan expires.
He told TIF: “During his time at Hoffenheim he started really well, playing left wing back, his first eleven games, he played 90 minutes nine times, so there was a lot of promise shown in him but then he picked up an injury and he hasn’t really been the same since and he lost his place to 19-year-old Marco John.
“There’s no option to buy and even if they did have that, I don’t think Hoffenheim would activate it.”
Spurs announced on Monday, after this interview, that Jose Mourinho had been sacked, and Pinder thinks that a new manager may try to use him in a different role.
He added: “Playing at left-back, I think he’s a bit suspect to balls being played in behind him between him and the left central defender, so depending on who comes in if Mourinho leaves, I think he’d be better suited to playing further forward than at left-back.”