In July 2018, Brighton and Hove Albion accomplished the signing of Yves Bissouma from Lille. Amongst English soccer followers, the Mali-born midfielder was one thing of an unknown expertise. Skip ahead to the 2020-21 season, and he’s now one of many Premier League’s most sought-after gamers. Sounds acquainted? Certain it does.
✍️ We’re happy to announce the switch of Yves Bissouma.
Welcome to Spurs, Yves! 💙
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) June 17, 2022
In 2015, Antonio Conte at Chelsea signed a sure N’Golo Kante from Leicester Metropolis for a discount €30m. Kante was purchased by Leicester as an unknown commodity and has gone on to turn out to be the world’s greatest in his place. And Antonio Conte has finished it once more. Historical past has repeated itself! Though Conte and Kante went on to win the Premier League the next season, and Spurs followers would certainly hope the Conte-Bissouma duo can pull off the identical.
However how does the Mali worldwide slot in at Spurs and can Conte be capable of get the very best out of yet one more workhorse-midfielder? Right here we grade the switch of Bissouma to Tottenham and whether or not he has the potential to be a hit and miss.
Yves Bissouma enjoying model and evaluation
Few can argue that Brighton didn’t unearth a hidden gem once they paid round £15 million for the central midfielder. And taking the complete revenue of it are Spurs and Conte after snapping the Mali worldwide for reasonable.
Standing at a six-foot-tall, Bissouma was a dominating presence within the coronary heart of Brighton’s midfield. Though not a goal-scoring participant, the 24-year-old brings much-needed stability to Antonio Conte’s line-up. It’s in transitional phases and restoration the place the Mali worldwide comes into his personal.
Yves Bissouma has all the time been correct Spurs 🤣🤣pic.twitter.com/Cjl3DLF20u
— COYS.com (@COYS_com) June 14, 2022
The 24-year-old’s improvement simply laughs within the face of anybody who has disregarded Ligue 1 up to now. The Malian midfielder is one other a kind of gamers who was plucked from France for a measly payment and has improved to showcase the expertise that lies within the nation.
The Seagulls signed Bissouma from Lille in the summertime of 2018 for a payment of £15 million. Two years earlier than that, Lille’s distinctive scouting had helped them spot Bissouma when he was plying his commerce with Malian capital membership Actual Bamako. His transfer to Brighton helped Les Dogues earn tens of millions in resale and the Seagulls had been positive of creating extra themselves.
At Lille, Bissouma was predominantly a central midfielder however his ball development skills made positive that he could possibly be used on the precise aspect of the midfield as properly. He supplied the flexibility to get better the ball and recycle it ahead and for his age-group, having a variety of qualities was actually an enormous benefit. His enchancment as a participant at Brighton has simply tapped into his strengths at Lille and that may carry ahead onto his new staff at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Grade: B-
Yves Bissouma stats
Statistically, Bissouma is the whole midfield package deal. Regardless of missing objectives and assists, that’s a mirrored image of his position on the Amex Stadium and the Seagulls’ lack of scientific ending.
He falls within the class of gamers that common a low quantity of shot creation actions and low quantity of progressive passes too. Having stated that, that job isn’t one thing that Brighton demanded of him and neither will Conte — particularly since they typically drop one of many entrance three into the midfield.
However one side of the sport the place Bissouma actually thrives is ball recoveries. He’s superb at utilizing his tall body to win the ball again and carrying it ahead or enjoying fast passes to maneuver the ball. The midfielder has made as many as 11.8 recoveries per 90 minutes final season, which is likely one of the greatest tallies within the division for a midfielder. Comparatively, he does very properly in a European context for this stat too and it reveals certainly one of his essential strengths as a participant.
However the place will the midfielder slot in at Conte’s aspect? Listed here are how his stats in comparison with Spurs’ different central midfielders within the 2021-22 Premier League.
| PL | GOALS | ASSISTS | DRIBBLES/90 | PASSES/90 | TACKLES/90 | INTERCEPTIONS | |
| Bissouma | 1 | 2 | 1.4 | 45.1 | 3.2 | 2.1 | |
| Hojbjerg | 2 | 2 | 1.2 | 63.9 | 2.2 | 1.4 | |
| Bentancur | 0 | 4 | 0.9 | 59.6 | 2.4 | 1.3 | |
| Winks | 0 | 1 | 0.8 | 57.1 | 1.5 | 1.6 | |
| Skipp | 0 | 0 | 0.3 | 50.7 | 2.2 | 0.8 |
Bissouma comparability with present Spurs midfield for 21-22 season
Grade: B
Yves Bissouma switch payment – Worth for cash?
Due to Bissouma’s all-action strategy, he’s the best midfielder for the Premier League. Not solely can he snuff out the hazard, however he may also use his tempo and energy to drive his staff up the sphere in turning defence into assault. Having caught the attention of English soccer’s main golf equipment, Spurs have lastly obtained the person they meant to land.
On paper, it’s clear to see why Spurs needed Bissouma, however they weren’t alone within the race. Arsenal, Manchester Metropolis, and Manchester United had been additionally retaining their choices open relating to Bissouma. And even after all of the switch enquiries from their rivals, Spurs and Conte have landed their man for a discount of €25m.
For Spurs, Bissouma could possibly be the lacking piece of Antonio Conte’s puzzle. The North-London outfit are nonetheless struggling to search out the precise steadiness underneath the Spanish supervisor regardless of their sturdy finish to the season, and the Malian powerhouse would undoubtedly carry the much-needed drive to the London membership’s midfield.
Nevertheless, due to his age, Bissouma isn’t only a short-term resolution. There’s scope for the previous Lille midfielder to develop and develop his skillset in changing into a number one participant each domestically and in Europe.
Grade: A+
Tchouaméni has already set his eyes on @ChampionsLeague #Tchouaméni #RealMadrid pic.twitter.com/LJolGdzKHa
— FootTheBall FC (@FootTheBallFC) June 15, 2022
Yves Bissouma potential match and expectations
Antonio Conte’s undertaking at Spurs appears to be taking a concrete form after an preliminary season of transition. On account of the advance, a whole lot of Spurs gamers have stepped up a stage. One new participant that may turn out to be a useful contributor to the staff and set the tone for the system is Yves Bissouma.
Antonio Conte’s Spurs aspect wish to play a relentless counter-attacking model of soccer in a 3–4–3 system. The Mali worldwide isn’t the sitting midfielder who protects the again three; he’s extra like a cell midfield package deal who covers a whole lot of distance on the pitch. He can typically drop deeper and permit for higher transition from the again, however his essential position revolves round utilizing his multifaceted ability set. Spurs’ fluid strategy in midfield will assist him continuously change roles too.
A part of the Spurs household ✊ #DareTogether pic.twitter.com/SIM75xlxv5
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) June 9, 2022
Bissouma clearly likes to maintain his passing easy and efficient, other than the occasional dangerous move and maybe, that’s the reason he isn’t precisely a chance-creator. Mentally, he’s extra thinking about profitable it again and serving to the staff deal with these fast possession turnovers. And this high quality is a really helpful factor within the modern-day, the place modern-day coaches need their groups to recycle the ball rapidly when the possession has been received again. Bissouma thrives on that.
Last Grade: A
