Moussa Sissoko saving his Tottenham Hotspur career?

Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Moussa Sissoko went from possibly having one foot out the door to becoming a trusted member of the squad.

It wasn’t all that long ago when £30 million was a lot of money to spend on a player for a club such as Tottenham Hotspur that doesn’t throw blank checks around every summer. Player valuations have skyrocketed in recent memory, meaning £30 million can’t and won’t buy what it would’ve even a few years ago. There’s currently no indication club football is headed toward any real course correction as it pertains to player transfers, so £30 million will probably be worth less in 2020 than it was worth on August 31 of this year.

Nevertheless, one cannot blame Tottenham supporters for feeling disappointed and even angry over what they’ve seen from midfielder Moussa Sissoko since he made a reported £30-million move to Spurs in August 2016. Sissoko disappointed fans and manager Mauricio Pochettino early on into his stint at White Hart Lane, to the point the now-28-year-old seemed surplus to requirements well before the start of the 2017-18 campaign.

While Pochettino has been quick to jettison those not deemed worthy to feature in his squad, he’s also shown patience with certain projects who weren’t immediate stars in lineups. As Marco Giacomelli of the Evening Standard recently explained, the Spurs boss convinced Sissoko to remain at Tottenham up through at least this coming January, and Pochettino has rewarded the player with an extended run in the team.

Even Sissoko’s harshest critics have been silenced by his recent form. Pochettino heralded Sissoko for a “fantastic” performance in Tottenham’s 3-2 victory over West Ham, per ESPN’s Dan Kilpatrick, and the much-maligned player notched his first tally of the season, and first of his Tottenham career, via a fortunate deflection late in this past Saturday’s 4-0 thrashing of overmatched Huddersfield Town.

A handful of noteworthy positive appearances mean little, in the grand scheme of things, and it’s possible, if not likely, Sissoko will never prove to be worth what Tottenham paid for him in the eyes of some. Will Sissoko notch a brace versus a giant such as Real Madrid while wearing Tottenham Lilywhite on a Champions League night? Probably not. In fact, it’s more likely he’ll never claim a full-time spot in Pochettino’s XI.

More from Tottenham Hotspur

So what? That’s not an indictment of the transfer or of Sissoko’s future with Spurs. Back in the summer, when those penning season previews were assuming Sissoko would complete either a temporary or permanent move from Tottenham, observers and fans alike suggested Pochettino needed a replacement for right back Kyle Walker, who left for Manchester City, and additional squad depth to again compete for the Premier League title. Tottenham landed Serge Aurier to fill the gap created by Walker’s departure. Sissoko, meanwhile, was essentially a new signing during the second half of September.

The hope is that Sissoko will push others, particularly those sidelined because of injury woes, and continue his admirable play en route to earning starts in cup competitions, and possibly convincing chairman Daniel Levy he doesn’t need to sign a similar player in January who can contribute to Spurs and ultimately replace Sissoko. Remember that this squad, largely assembled per Pochettino’s wishes, is built to do more than earn a Champions League berth next spring.

So much has been made about the supposed “Pochettino Magic” as it pertains to younger players that some may discount the manager’s ability to motivate proven commodities who may require a strategically-placed swift kick or a vote of confidence to bolster their values to the squad. It’s clear, upon reading Giacomelli’s piece, Sissoko and Pochettino share a working relationship that involves the two trusting each other. To borrow the phrase commonly used in American sports, Tottenham supporters need to trust Pochettino’s process here.

Following the current international break, which couldn’t have come at a worse time for Spurs, Tottenham will encounter a congested schedule that involves playing seven matches from October 14 through November 5. Matches versus Real, Liverpool, West Ham, Manchester United and Real again are included in that run. Pochettino will likely lean on Sissoko later this month. Tottenham will need the midfielder to answer the call.