Journalist Alasdair Gold has claimed that Ryan Sessegnon may be under pressure from next season to get a spot in the Tottenham Hotspur side.
Sessegnon has appeared to overcome the bulk of his injury woes this season under Antonio Conte, as he’s on course to play the highest amount of league matches for Spurs since he joined the club back in 2019.
The 22-year-old has been largely competing with veteran Ivan Perisic for a starting berth at left wing-back under Conte this season, but with fellow youngster Destiny Udogie out on loan and set to return next summer, Sessegnon’s future certainly isn’t clear.
Gold claimed on his YouTube channel that Sessegnon may be under pressure to perform and keep up his minutes in the first team when Udogie returns to Spurs next summer.
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He said: “I’m interested to see how the battle next season will work with three people fighting it out, with Destiny Udogie coming along as well as obviously Perisic, so I think Sessegnon’s the one under pressure this season.”
TIF Thoughts on Sessegnon’s Spurs future…
Sessegnon’s place in the Spurs first team won’t likely be the only one in danger, as Emerson Royal has come in for heaps of criticism this term, meaning there are potentially plenty of places up for grabs in Conte’s side at present.
And while it’s understandable Gold may consider Sessegnon’s place as under threat from Udogie, by the time the Italian arrives at Spurs, Perisic will be 34 years old, so he certainly won’t have many years left at the very top of the game.
Therefore, he would likely be gradually phased out of the first-team picture and perhaps only be used as an impact substitute or someone to help develop the younger wing-backs instead of moving on someone like Sessegnon – who was once hailed “amazing” by a Spurs insider.
The arrival of Udogie may even not put Sessegnon under pressure, but instead, see him step up his own game to prove he can indeed be the long-term option on the left-hand side under Conte, with Udogie having to settle for the backup role.