Tottenham have had an indifferent start to the season so far. It has been a poor week for Spurs as their unbeaten record in the Premier League was brought to a halt by Chelsea, days after they were dumped out of the Champions League by Monaco.
Injuries to key players like Toby Alderweireld and Erik Lamela has hampered the North London club, but one man in particular who has struggled to make any sort of impact this season for Spurs is Moussa Sissoko. The French international was bought for quite a big amount in the summer as Mauricio Pochettino was looking to improve his squad given their involvement in European football. So in came Sissoko, and to balance the books Nacer Chadli was shipped off to West Bromwich Albion.
Sissoko was coming on the back of some excellent displays for the French national team in the Euros. However, he has been nothing short of awful this term for the North Londoners. Fans were expecting a lot from the summer signing, given his price tag, but, instead, they have been treated to a number of dismal showings and uninspiring cameos.
On the other hand, Nacer Chadli has hit top form since joining West Brom. The Belgian has had a huge say in the Baggies’ current position in the table. With his dazzling performances, he has very soon become a fan favourite at The Hawthorns and has become one of the first names on the teamsheet for Tony Pulis’ side.
His impressive displays for the Baggies have left Tottenham fans wondering if selling Chadli and bringing in Sissoko, at that price, was the right thing to do.
The Frenchman – Sissoko – has made 6 appearances so far for Tottenham but has failed to open his goal-scoring account yet. He has managed to create only 6 goal-scoring chances but is yet to register a single assist for his new team. Only one out of eight shots attempted has been on target for the Frenchman, while he has made 109 successful passes, only 30 of which have been in the final third of the pitch. He has had 50% success in his 14 attempts to dribble past opponents. Disappointing return from a player who was tipped to lead Spurs to glory. To make matters worse, he was also banned for a landing an elbow on Harry Arter in Tottenham’s clash against Bournemouth.
On the flip side, Chadli, for West Brom, having played 8 times this season has already managed to score four times and has also had a hand in two more goals for the Baggies. He has created 7 chances so far and has made 156 passes at a success rate of 82% that also includes 60 passes in the final third. A 47% shot accuracy on his 19 attempted strikes is a much better return compared to that of Sissoko.
Another stat to be noted is that the Frenchman has lost the ball to an opponent on 64 occasions, same as Chadli, despite having featured much less for Spurs than Chadli has for the Baggies. It is very clear for everyone to see from the numbers that Chadli has outdone his replacement in all aspects of the game so far this term. No wonder that Spurs’ fans are left pining to see the Belgian in place of their summer signing.
Sissoko has been nothing but a huge let down this season. The manager, Mauricio Pochettino, seems to have lost the trust in him as he publicly criticised the player’s attitude on the training ground. After the loss to Chelsea, Pochettino, speaking about the 27-year old, said:
‘Football is not about money. It is about you being better, and that you show on the training ground that you are better than another team-mate and that you deserve to be involved or not.’
‘If another deserves to be involved like maybe Josh Onomah or maybe Vincent Janssen they will be involved. Why, because we pay money, do they deserve to play?
‘He needs to work hard and to show in future that he deserves to be on the team.’
With only 13 games played so far and the end of the season still a long way away, it might not exactly be prudent to judge a player this early, especially after he has moved to a new club and a new environment altogether. But Sissoko has been miserable in the few games he has featured and has left the Spurs’ fans wondering what if Chadli had stayed.
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