Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Yves Bissouma will reportedly be allowed to leave the club this summer amid interest from Crystal Palace and Ligue 1 sides.
The star swapped Brighton for Tottenham for around £25m (€30.3m, $31.7m) in the summer of 2022 but injuries, suspensions, and inconsistent form have, arguably, overshadowed his time there.
Bissouma, whose contract runs until 2026, has made 32 appearances in all competitions this season but 20 of those have been starts as questions over his long-term future at the club grow.
On the face of it, Spurs won’t want to let the Mali international leave for free in the summer of 2026 so trying to recoup some of their original outlay may be a shrewd move.
Now, GIVEMESPORT claims there are no indications the north London team will offer him a new contract and may entertain bids for him after the season ends.
The report adds that Palace are monitoring the situation closely but the player is said to be open to heading back to Ligue 1.
Bissouma, who was signed by Brighton from Lille in 2018, is reportedly a target for Marseille and Nice but a Premier League move is not out of the question.
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Tottenham urged to sell Bissouma
Former Arsenal star Paul Merson believes Tottenham need to ditch Bissouma and midfield team-mate Pape Matar Sarr as they are not good enough for the club.
He said last month: “Daniel Levy must look to invest in midfield for Tottenham. Yves Bissouma and Pape Matar Sarr have been very inconsistent and that’s where the main problem lies for them.”
Indeed, after Spurs’ 4-0 Carabao Cup semi-final second-leg loss to Liverpool at Anfield, ex-England defender Jamie Carragher tore into Bissouma and team-mate Rodrigo Bentancur.
“When I look at those three midfield players I thought they were a disgrace. No matter who your manager is you’re playing the semi-final. Talk about them getting on the ball,” he said.
“We all come into this game and if you’re a Tottenham man you know first 15 minutes, half an hour, Liverpool will be on the ball, you’ve gotta put them under pressure, get after them, be aggressive. It was still so easy for them.
“We’ve criticised Ange Postecoglou. Let’s not forget we’ve called him naive at times, putting full-backs into midfield and leaving themselves open. That looked like a team that was picked before the game saying, ‘We’re gonna try and make it difficult for Liverpool’. I thought that was a team to try and stop Liverpool and nullify Liverpool but those midfield players they didn’t put a challenge in.”
Tottenham transfer roundup: £138m raid planned, Camara transfer target
Spurs are reportedly eyeing summer moves for Palace duo Eberechi Eze and Marc Guehi, with the pair said to be valued at a combined £138m (€167m, $175m).
But whether or not they are able to sign the two in-demand England internationals is another matter entirely.
Tottenham have been linked with a move for highly-rated Monaco star Lamine Camara, who has been credited with interest from Liverpool, Manchester City, and Chelsea.
The 21-year-old talent is considered by many to be Senegal’s best prospect since Sadio Mane and could be on the move soon, despite only signing from FC Metz last summer.
Finally, Fabrizio Romano says it is very unlikely that the north London team will trigger their loan-to-buy option for Timo Werner.
Bissouma among Spurs players fighting for future
As a Tottenham fan, this one is particularly galling to write up as Bissouma could and should have been the mainstay of Spurs’ engine room for years to come.
However, the former Brighton man – bar Postecoglou’s first 10 games in charge last season – has looked a complete shadow of the player who excelled down on the south coast at Brighton.
Indeed, that fact was compounded by his latest mistake in possession that cost Tottenham their first goal in the 4-0 mauling at Liverpool and opened the floodgates for the eventual rout.
The frustrating part is that Bissouma was often the best player on the pitch when playing for the Seagulls in clashes against Tottenham and got fans from the white half of north London understandably excited when he arrived in the summer of 2022.
However, Bissouma has never really been able to establish himself as a regular starter. Add in the fact that Gray will eventually get a shot at playing in the front of the back four, along with the agreement that is in place to sign Real Betis star Johnny Cardoso early in the summer, and Bissouma’s days could well be numbered.