Yves Bissouma was laughing with his family and friends just outside Tottenham Hotspur’s dressing room following their victory over Everton when he spotted an opportunity he could not turn down.
The midfielder wrapped his arms around his father and ushered him towards James Maddison. After a brief introduction, they exchanged pleasantries before Bissouma and Maddison took a photo together while holding their children. It was a wholesome ending to a difficult week for the Mali international.
He missed Tottenham’s 1-1 draw with Leicester City on Monday because the club suspended him for one game after video footage emerged of him appearing to inhale nitrous oxide — more commonly known as hippy crack, laughing gas or nos.
Bissouma is not young and naive. He is 27 and should be setting a better example for the junior members of the squad. Spurs head coach Ange Postecoglou spoke about the need for Bissouma to “build bridges” with his team-mates and the coaching staff.
“I’ve always believed in opportunity for redemption and learning,” Postecoglou said. “We’re still in that space with Biss. But obviously that door closes after a while if there are repeated (indiscretions). He’s been good but I would have been surprised if he wasn’t. The key with Biss is consistency.
Postecoglou has shown Bissouma some tough love (Henry Nicholls/AFP via Getty Images)
“Obviously, the last transgression was very serious but it’s the little things along the way also. Sometimes that manifests in his game where he’s really good and he’ll have a moment when he’s not. It all correlates. From our perspective, it’s about trying to continually guide him. But it’s up to him. He’s got to continue to try to be the best version of himself that he can possibly be.”
Bissouma would not have expected to be back in the starting XI within a week and he was fortunate to be. Rodrigo Bentancur, who was involved in his own controversy this summer after allegedly making racist comments towards captain Son Heung-min, started as the central defensive midfielder against Leicester.
The Uruguay international put in a solid performance and probably would have held onto the role this weekend. However, Bentancur’s clash of heads with Abdul Fatawu in the second half, which left him bleeding, ruled him out and it is unclear if he will be available against Newcastle United on September 1.
Postecoglou could have picked Archie Gray to replace Bentancur but opted for Bissouma. He did not let his manager down. By the 14th minute of the 4-0 win over Everton, he was pumping his fists in front of the supporters and then he appeared to bow to them as a form of apology.
Bissouma says sorry to the Spurs fans after his goal (David Rogers/Getty Images)
His shot from outside the box had just given Spurs the lead and it was his first goal for them on his 56th appearance. Hugging Postecoglou during his celebration felt like an acknowledgement there is still a lot of work to be done until he is completely forgiven.
“Listen to that roar — Spurs are back!” 🔥
A rocket from Yves Bissouma to open the scoring! 🚀 pic.twitter.com/syXDKtQI9j
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) August 24, 2024
Even before the laughing gas incident, Bissouma needed to convince Tottenham’s supporters he was the right candidate for the No 6 role in Postecoglou’s 4-3-3 system. Since he moved to north London in June 2022 from Brighton & Hove Albion for a fee in excess of £25million, back when Antonio Conte was in charge, he has only shown flashes of quality.
In the opening 10 minutes against Everton, he tried to play a few ambitious line-breaking passes and a couple of them were intercepted. One failed pass led to an Everton counter-attack and new signing Wilson Odobert, who made an encouraging debut, tracked back from left wing to produce an impressive slide tackle.
You need to be brave to play in midfield under Postecoglou, and those setbacks did not prevent Bissouma from executing similar passes later in the game. He kept the ball moving, made important tackles and allowed his midfield partners Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski to focus on pulling Everton apart.
This level of performance should be the bare minimum. There will be much tougher challenges to come though including next Sunday’s trip to face Newcastle United. Spurs had 71 per cent possession against Everton and seven shots on target. Bissouma’s ability to protect the back four was barely tested and that is what he is in this team to do.
He has been slightly fortunate that Bentancur has been injured for a lot of their time together at Tottenham. Bentancur ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in February 2023 and missed nine months. He only started 13 times last season and played a total of 1,007 minutes compared to Bissouma, who featured in the starting XI on 26 occasions and had double the amount of playing time (2,080).
That number would have been higher but Bissouma missed four games through suspension and another three while representing Mali at the Africa Cup of Nations. When Bissouma and Bentancur are fully fit, it will be interesting to see who Postecoglou prefers. Gray is only 18 but he will receive opportunities too.
For now, though, it is Bissouma’s contributions that have left the supporters smiling. Hopefully, after a rocky start, this will be his best season with Spurs yet.
(Top photo: David Rogers/Getty Images)
