In an interview with then-teammate Glenn Murray, Yves Bissouma, when asked who was the best midfielder in the Premier League, said himself. (BBC Sport).
He was not being arrogant, as he says himself, but that was his mindset. He was a player brimming with confidence and self-belief and within Graham Potter’s Brighton team, he was an instrumental player – especially in games against Spurs!
Just watch this video (YouTube) and you will be reminded just why Spurs fans were so excited to see him signed in the summer of 2022 (BBC Sport) – and for just £25m, an absolute coup.
Undoubtedly, Bissouma has all the attributes to be one of the best central midfielders in the Premier League. He is composed on the ball and his close control, especially in tight areas, is impressive. He reads the game well and is strong in winning the ball back.
He also has the ability to beat his man with a turn of pace or sleight of foot. Occasionally he chips in with a goal, but that’s not why you play Bissouma. So why did it not go to plan last season for Yves?
The easy answer seems to be – he was a ‘club signing’ or at least not a ‘Conte signing’ and we know how our former boss felt about those – not my choice, therefore I don’t really want anything to do with them – just ask Djed Spence!
Conte even came out and publicly announced that Bissouma was struggling to adapt to his way of playing (Evening Standard). Even if this were true, to have it broadcast to the world is sure to undermine a player’s confidence.
What is for certain is that the player we saw last season was not the player we saw in the blue and white of Brighton. He seemed unsure and lacked his sharpness and confidence on the ball.
Injuries also prevented Bissouma from settling at the club. After the mid-season break for the World Cup, many hoped he would become more of a fixture in the side, however, he was unfortunately struck by a shoulder injury that meant he missed fifteen games (TransferMarkt) – the most games he has missed consecutively in his career due to injury.
Yves Bissouma could be like a new signing for Spurs
Fast forward to the beginning of this pre-season and Yves Bissouma seems like a man reborn. With Ange Postecoglou taking the reigns at the club, Bissouma has been all smiles and you can see from his body language and performances on the pitch, that the player who believed he was the ‘best in the league’ might be getting back to this headspace once again.
Bissouma looked like the cat who’d got the cream when he bounced back into training at Hotspur Way – and from social media, it appears that he has become a central part in the Spurs dressing room, alongside new signing James Maddison.
Crucially, his relationship with Ange Postecolglou seems to have begun strongly. Of the boss, Bissouma had this to say: “He gives us confidence. He’s like a dad, uncle, friend for us, so we’re happy to be with him and we’re trying to do what he wants.” (Evening Standard)
Similarly, the love appears to go both ways as Ange has informed Bissouma that he will play a key role this year for the club, and that he sees his as his ‘general’ in the middle of the park (The Athletic). The foundations are in place for something special to grow.
Tactically as well, this year will serve to suit Bissouma down to the ground and I spoke to professional football coach, Coach B (@InvertTheWing) about what we can expect from how Ange plays and what this means for our Malian maestro. All quotes in the last section of this article come from him.
Personally, I actually felt sorry for the central midfielders playing at Tottenham last season. Playing in the middle of the park as a two was not much fun, especially as the majority of opponents favoured a three in midfield, leaving them overrun and overwhelmed; with little time on the ball.
As good as our front three were offensively, they offer little in terms of defensive support. It was a thankless task.
This is all changed now with Ange Postecoglou’s 4-3-3 formation, which we have begun to see in pre-season. Our new number 8, will play the role of the ‘six’ in the midfield and without wishing to sound melodramatic, the success of the team and the pace at which they play will, in no small part, depend on him.
Last season it was infuriating watching the central midfielders dropping almost into the back three; taking the ball from one of the centre backs and inevitably playing the ball sideways or inviting pressure onto the backline.
The reasons for this were twofold. Firstly, with the midfield being usually a 2 v 3 battle the player – usually Hojbjerg – would drop deeper to find space to allow him more time on the ball. The second reason was fear of failure and incurring the wrath from the sidelines, this encouraged more conservative play.
In the Postecolgou system, Bissouma will have to be, good on the ball. This is an absolute must. Being able to carry the ball as a six, is also an absolute must. Often times you see gaps in the field, Ange expects the ball to be played into that space. He will expect Bissouma to carry the ball into such areas,” We know Bissouma has the athleticism and close control to do this with aplomb.
We know that Ange will expect his wide players to get wide and his two, adventurous eights to take up positions in the half spaces. This means that “Bissouma must be able to switch play swiftly and with fluidity. This applies for a lot of possession manager – but switching the ball into a less concentrated area of the field allows for completely new attacks to stem and creates a lot more pressure.”
Bissouma has a solid range of passing and these expectations will allow him to display these skills far more than he could have last season.
Although on paper, Bissouma’s number 6 role looks like a single pivot, in an attacking sense it is at the base of a box midfield, linking with whichever fullback is inverting. Bissouma will have to martial this and communicate effectively to ensure there is a clear gap between the defence and midfield.
This will allow defenders like Romero (and hopefully Van de Ven) to bring the ball out and play through the lines to the number 8s or out wide.
These central defenders will also have to “fill in for Bissouma if he drives forward” like we have seen him do several times in preseason, where he has adopted several advanced positions around the edge of the box. In those situations, potentially “having a player like Van de Ven, who has express pace can cover effectively.”
Therefore, to conclude, we have always known that Bissouma is one hell of a player. With a manager who clearly believes in him and in a formation in which he can excel, I am sure by the time the Premier League comes to a close, in May next year, everyone will know that Yves Bissouma is one of, if not the best, in the league.
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