There is no greater evidence for the Ange Postecoglou renaissance at Tottenham than Yves Bissouma turning into Lionel Messi at his most impudent to produce what’s surely the greatest assist you’ll see anywhere this season.
Okay, Bissouma wasn’t wearing a Tottenham shirt when he pulled it off. It was to set up the last goal of Mali’s 4-0 drubbing of South Sudan in Africa Cup of Nations qualifying. But seeing the midfielder play with that kind of confidence and joie de vivre was completely unthinkable during the miserable depths of the Antonio Conte era last term.
It was evident at Brighton that Bissouma was a quality player. But he looked lost in his debut season at Tottenham, with Conte’s favoured 3-4-2-1 formation not able to get him influencing the game.
The kindest thing you can say about the Mali international’s first year in north London is that he didn’t play much of a part in the misery. He started just 10 Premier League matches and his Champions League contributions amounted to three substitute appearances totalling less than 90 minutes.
But we’re declaring early that Postecoglou’s Spurs are 2023-24’s official ‘breath of fresh air’ team and Bissouma has had a starring role in their wonderfully watchable attack-minded football.
New faces like James Maddison, Destiny Udogie and Gugliemo Vicario have come in and made an instant impact, but Bissouma stands alongside Pedro Porro, Pape Matar Sarr and Son Heung-min in looking unrecognisable to last season.
Bissouma has arguably been Spurs’ best player this season. And his latest assist shows that the club are blessed with an absolute baller.
