Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham Hotspur

Premier League • England

Postecoglou already ‘loves’ £30m Tottenham man Conte wanted gone; star set for ‘big season’ as Levy is talked into U-turn

Ange Postecoglou Tottenham manager

Ange Postecoglou Tottenham manager

Ange Postecoglou is ready to hand Yves Bissouma a leading role at Tottenham next season after a trusted source revealed the new Spurs boss had been blown away by the African midfielder during his first week of pre-season training.

The Mali midfielder moved to north London last summer having departed Brighton in a £30m deal. At the time, his signing was seen as a real coup for Tottenham, with then-boss Antonio Conte seeing off plenty of interest for his signature.

However, the 3-4-3 system that Conte preferred did Bissouma little favours. And with the player used to operating as the anchor in a 4-1-4-1 formation, or a variant of, he struggled to adapt to the tactical shift under the Italian.

As a result, the 26-year-old very quickly fell out of favour. And having made just 11 starts in all competitions, speculation was mounting that Tottenham were ready to listen to offers for Bissouma.

And despite having three years left on his deal, chairman Daniel Levy was seemingly ready to move him on if the club could get their initial outlay back.

Furthermore, reports had claimed Levy was also casting an eye on Fiorentina star Sofyan Amrabat as a potential upgrade.

However, with the appointment of a new manager, comes fresh ideas and a new chance to impress. And it seems Bissouma is determined to make the most of his fresh start under Postecoglou.

The Aussie has been trusted by Levy to lead a revival at N7. And with Postecoglou preferring a 4-3-3 set-up, Bissouma has the chance to finally get his Spurs career up and running.

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Yves Bissouma gets fresh chance at Tottenham

To that end, a leading Tottenham expert claims Bissouma has quickly caught Postecoglou’s eye in training.

Discussing which Spurs players are back in training, Alasdair Gold provided an update on his YouTube channel.

“Even without the international players, you’ve got Hugo Lloris, Yves Bissouma, who Postecoglou loves,” Gold said.

“He’s very quickly taken a shine to Bissouma.

“Although to be fair, [Ryan] Mason and [Matt] Wells who are now on his coaching staff really, really liked Bissouma.

“They will no doubt have been extolling his virtues. I think from what I understand Postecoglou’s very quickly seen that he’s a player for me. So hopefully a big season [to come] for Bissouma.”

Bissouma often found himself behind Rodrigo Bentacur and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg in the pecking order at Spurs. However, the high-tempo football that Postecoglou prefers may well see a new-look midfield three next season.

As a result, reports have suggested that Hojbjerg could be allowed to make a surprise exit this summer. To that end, Atletico Madrid are among those keen on his services with the Dane reportedly “really keen” to make the move.

On the flip side, Postecoglou will now make it clear to Levy that Bissouma will play a leading role in 2023/24. And any plans that the Tottenham chairman had of moving him on will likely now be vetoed.

And it’s not just Bissouma who will be granted the chance to rekindle his Tottenham career. Earlier this week it was claimed that the new Spurs boss was also keen to put Tanguy Ndombele through his paces. The 57-year-old is reportedly a long-term admirer of the £55m man’s talents.

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