One of the most telling descriptions of Yves Bissouma came from Enock Mwepu, who hoped he – together with the rest of his Brighton team-mates – would be able to replace the “reliable” midfielder when he moved to north London this summer.
For both, a lot has changed since then. Mwepu was forced to retire this week after being diagnosed with a hereditary heart condition. Bissouma, meanwhile, has made just two Premier League starts under Antonio Conte, the second coming in Saturday’s 1-0 victory over Brighton.
Conte so rarely deviates from a 3-4-3, the formation he re-popularised in English football during his time at Chelsea, that in that sense, it came as a surprise to see him switch to a 3-5-2 at the Amex.
It was a shift in approach for which Tottenham fans had been calling, with Bissouma offering another body in midfield alongside Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Rodrigo Bentancur. Conte’s hand had been forced not once, but twice: Dejan Kulusevski sidelined through injury, leaving him one short had he wished to rotate the front three. And then came the humiliation at Arsenal, when an abject Tottenham midfield was overrun and was the source of most of their spurned counters.
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Bissouma proved an antidote, albeit one which came laced with a little rust – epitomised by the senseless booking he picked up for bringing down Alexis Mac Allister. But these blips were individual, not structural.
Like Matt Doherty – see also, Djed Spence – the 26-year-old is in an unenviable position under Conte: they are in desperate need of minutes but when they do appear, they seem… well, in desperate need of minutes. Both Doherty and Bissouma had some poor touches, but generally filled a void against Brighton. In the case of the latter, his contribution is understated, with Spurs enjoying just 41 per cent possession.
Attention now turns to the Champions League group match against Frankfurt, when Kulusevski is once again ruled out despite returning to training at Hotspur Way. Conte can ill afford to overwork Harry Kane, Richarlison and Son Heung-min, especially with Everton at home on Saturday.
Fortunately, the Bissouma experiment has borne fruit before. Arguably, it was not even the universally poor display against Arsenal that proved the Mali international’s use, but the 6-2 win over Leicester in September. At Arsenal, Bissouma was one of Conte’s five subs in four minutes when the ship was long sunk. But against Leicester, Bissouma replaced Kulusevski with 20 minutes to go and with Spurs boasting a narrow 3-2 lead. A Son hat-trick followed almost immediately.
Leicester had a midfield three, so throwing Bissouma into the mix effectively meant Spurs went like-for-like. If Frankfurt repeat the system they used in their home tie, they will opt for a 3-4-3. Then again, their most recent Bundesliga match saw them lose 3-0 to VfL Bochum with a 4-2-2-2 approach (incidentally, becoming increasingly popular in German football, led by Julian Nagelsmann at Bayern Munich).
Tottenham team news vs Frankfurt
- Dejan Kulusevski (thigh) – Returned to training on Tuesday but will not feature Conte says there is a “5 per cent” risk associated with playing him
- Lucas Moura (calf) – Available again and is likely to be named on the bench
- Japhet Tanganga (unspecified) – Back in training after missing Spurs’ last two games with a knock
Conte previously suggested that he had been reluctant to use his £25m summer signing because he was “struggling a bit with the tactical aspect”. At the time, he said he was waiting until the hectic pre-World Cup run-in before calling upon his fringe players, and he had not seen all that much to sway his thinking. Bissouma’s cameo in the 2-2 draw with Chelsea only afforded him 11 minutes of regulation time, and he was restricted after picking up a yellow for dissent in the 1-1 draw with West Ham.
Before hosting Frankfurt on Wednesday, and with Spurs having failed to really grab the group stages by the horns but in a reasonably comfortable position in Europe nonetheless, Conte hinted that 3-5-2 would be “a good option in the future”, adding “we try to use the best formation but at the same time don’t lose our identity”.
That alluded to his preferred 3-4-3 being restored, though one option would be for Bissouma to come in for Bentancur or Hojbjerg. Yet direct comparisons with Spurs’ other central midfielders are unfair. Bissouma has completed significantly fewer passes per match in the Premier league (an average of just over 21 to Hojbjerg’s 63 and Bentancur’s 49) but has played so few minutes by contrast that it becomes difficult to measure: equally, he has a 100 per cent tackle success rate.
Conte has not been dealt an easy hand in midfield since taking over, sending Tanguy Ndombele, Giovani Lo Celso and Harry Winks out on loan. It’s unclear if Tottenham will persist with a 3-5-2 on a more permanent basis, with Bissouma proving the solution to their issues in that position. In the meantime, finding a regular role for him presents Conte with another headache.
Tottenham predicted XI vs Frankfurt: Lloris; Sanchez, Dier, Lenglet; Doherty, Bentancur, Hojbjerg, Perisic; Richarlison, Kane, Son.
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