Why Yves Bissouma can't start for Tottenham in 2025/2026 | OneFootball

I have once been a Yves Bissouma believer; however, I can honestly admit that I have left the hype train a long time ago. When Ange Postecoglou arrived at Tottenham, Bissouma seemed like the perfect prototype for the Australian's do-it-all single pivot.

Since AngeBall relies heavily on physicality and control, Bissouma appeared to be a ready-made player for Ange to have a safeguard at midfield. A player dictates tempo, makes the connection between the center-halves and the inverted full-backs, and also provides a safety blanket in case of a turnover. To a certain extent, the Mali international was precisely that in the first eight matches of last season, or the most prominent spell of Ange Postecoglou at White Hart Lane.

Bissouma was the perfect engine that made Spurs' midfield tick correctly, as Ange would like, and his runs forward and ball control gave me goosebumps comparing him to Mousa Dembélé, which I now realize was a completely out-of-proportion comparison. But, to be fair, Bissouma was playing at a very high standard, and no one seemed to be able to take the ball away from him.

However, there was a clear divider in Bissouma's Spurs career, and no, it was not the Chelsea match at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. It was the 0-1 win at Luton in early October, with a solitary goal from Micky Van de Ven, where Bissouma made a poor tackle and left Spurs with 10 men. However, since that moment, he has never been the same player as before.

Indeed, many things have happened since then, but Yves Bissouma has never truly shown the potential he showcased at the beginning of the 2023/2024 season. On the ball, for instance, the Spurs' number 8 would often be overly confident at times and made some poor decisions, such as the goal he conceded to Grealish at the Etihad in December 2023. While off the ball, Bissouma would constantly fail to track the opponents' runs behind his sector and provide too much space for easy shots from outside the box.

The numbers don't lie either

But 2024/2025 was the year I unfortunately gave up on him. Last season, Bissouma played 2.083 minutes in only 28 matches. This season, however, he has 2.049 minutes in 37 matches, which is less than the previous campaign but with almost 10 extra matches. Rodrigo Bentancur often surpassed the Malean in the pecking order for the pivot role, and 19-year-old Lucas Bergvall has been having better displays and minutes (2.244) than Bissouma.

Now, if you dig into the numbers, it becomes clearer how big of a step back Bissouma had this season at Spurs. When comparing numbers from last season to the current one, it is noticeable that there has been a significant decline in all passing statistics, which is also reflected in his reduced playing time. However, this decline perfectly reflects his performance levels; for example, his xA decreased from 1.7 to 0.6 while his total progressive passes went from 169 to 71, according to FBref.

Not only did his xG, xAG, and overall progressive numbers decline significantly, which are his best traits as a midfielder in Ange's system, but his defensive stats also declined. His tackles, challenges, and block numbers all had setbacks, which explains Bissouma's rotational role in the current squad, while young players like Bergvall overshadowed him.

Therefore, I believe Bissouma's time in North London is virtually over, unless a complete overhaul in performance and attitude takes place in the last few matches of the season. However, even so, Bissouma has had three years to establish himself at Spurs, and, aside from a small but extremely high-level sample, he has not delivered the expected consistency. I still do like Bissouma as a player, but Spurs need certainty in such an essential role in modern football, and not question marks.