Tottenham need Ryan Sessegnon to overcome his recent slump

Ryan Sessegnon arrived at Tottenham with massive expectations, but he’s only begun to realize his talent under Jose Mourinho.

A curious thing has happened at Tottenham since Jose Mourinho’s arrival. Despite serious early concerns about his treatment of youth players, he’s actually given multiple starlets a new lease on life with Spurs. Ryan Sessegnon is definitely one player that is starting to take advantage of his new opportunity.

By the young left back’s own admission, life has been “tough” on him at Tottenham since coming over from Fulham this summer. He prides himself on being his own worst critic. Unfortunately, his early play at Spurs gave him plenty to criticize.

The good news is that he’s starting to show signs of real quality lately. He was instrumental in Tottenham’s opening goal against Southampton on Wednesday. It was his pass that cut open the Saints’ defence and led to Tanguy Ndombele‘s deflected shot. It gave Spurs a lead they relinquished, but it was still a sign of real progress from Sessegnon.

The most interesting development for the English starlet is the discipline Mourinho is installing into his game. That was a weakness for Sessegnon during his time at Fulham. He played an attacking role for the Whites’ and wasn’t asked to do much in terms of defending.

Mourinho requires significant work rate from all his players. Perhaps more importantly, he’s asking Sessegnon to be more measured when it comes to bombing forward in the attacking third. That requires a significant mental adjustment for the young player.

Altering his mental approach to the game will be just as important as any physical training Sessegnon does down the stretch. Tottenham fans shouldn’t expect to see the best of him on a consistent basis this year. Instead, the focus must be on recognizing measured improvements on a match-by-match basis. The glimpses of quality from Sessegnon are still important, but Mourinho and his coaching staff will be much more concerned with limiting his mistakes.

Sessegnon still doesn’t have a clear-cut home at Tottenham, but he’s much closer to realizing that goal under Mourinho than he ever was under Pochettino. In a strange way, the arrival of a stringent technician may be the best thing that ever happens to the talented winger.