Sissoko only cost Spurs £17m, AC Milan want him
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| AC Milan are tracking Moussa Sissoko should he become available this summer |
After a poor Spurs display and a defeat in which Moussa Sissoko was again poor being played out of position, stories surface once again of interest from Italians AC Milan.
Italian news outlet Calciomercato are re-running the story, although no figures are mentioned. AC Milan were the subject of a takeover from a Chinese consortium Sino Europe Sports so have funds to invest in upgrading their team which has slumped to mid-table in recent years, a far cry from when they were dominant.
It is natural that the 27-year-old (28 in August) is being tracked. He is a French international who had an excellent European Championships last summer but has failed to ignite his career at Spurs.
The deal Daniel Levy struck on deadline day with relegated Newcastle United was a good one. All and sundry are reporting that he cost £30 million (€35.72m - AUS$50.64m - US$37.72m), but he doesn't, he only costs £30 million if he stays the full term of his contract. Levy struck a deal that meant Spurs will only pay £6 million (€7.14m - AUS$10.13m - US$7.54m) for each year he remains at the club, thus he can be sold for a realistic fee.
The initial fee was £17 million (€20.24m - AUS$28.70m - US$21.38m) so if we sell him before deadline day this summer we can recoup our money.
In most transfers a fee is agreed and annual payments made, but just like a loan, these instalments have to be paid so if you sell a player you still owe the full fee, not the case with Sissoko. The absurd £30 million valuation Newcastle United placed on him will not have to be paid therefore. Financial Fair Play rules have meant clubs coming up with increasingly innovative payment structures to avoid falling foul, season-long loan deals with automatic purchase clauses are common practice now like the Nabil Bentaleb and Lewis Holtby deals.
It seems to me that he doesn't have the right mindset to be a top four player. Newcastle United fans spoke of his inconsistency and felt he played when he felt like it, much the same as Victor Wanyama appeared to do during his final season at Southampton.
H is once again, a demonstration of why we need to become world leaders in mentally assessing players before we buy them. We have to try and figure out how they are going to react in any given situation, not spend millions and keep our fingers crossed. It is a naive approach football takes and we take.
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13 comments
Never understood the purchase he didn't fit our transfers policy in the first place and he was never going to fit in
Get rid asap
ask levy.
For France and Newcastle United in the early days, he was magnificent playing just as Dembele does in centre midfield.
That's exactly where I'd like to see him now at Spurs when Dembele needs a rest, is injured or having a rare off day.
I also think in recent weeks we have really suffered down the left for 2 big reasons, we have missed Rose but also we have no natural left footed winger meaning we've played a right footer on both wings, had no decent overlap on the left as well as the imminent fear of a counter down the left exposing Davies and Dier.
We've needed 5 at the back to help Davies and Dier, plus with 5 at the back Davies and Walker can have a bit more confidence going forward, providing width whilst knowing the defenders left behind arent as exposed to a counter attack. Ro…
Davies plays in a back 3, the two full-backs then join the midfield as a midfield 5 with Wanyama helping the defenders and the two full-backs coming back as required. It's not really a back 5.
Sissoko, Son, Alli, Eriksen and Kane have all had to come deeper to either protect or retrieve the ball and then we've had no way to get the ball higher up the pitch
He is a clumsy player, with a lack of a football brain.
How he became a professional footballer is unbelievable.