In a not-too-distant alternate reality, Tottenham Hotspur renewing Yves Bissouma’s contract would surely feel like a no-brainer.
At 29, there is, in theory, still plenty to come from the Mali captain. At his best, he is undoubtedly a European- and international-level talent, capable of running games from the base of midfield in a manner no Spurs player can, other than perhaps a fit and firing Rodrigo Bentancur. He was instrumental in the Europa League final against Manchester United just over a year ago, winning seven duels and four tackles as he dominated the midfield battle for 90 minutes.
He also seems a strong stylistic fit under Roberto De Zerbi. It was telling that the Italian started him ahead of Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall against Brighton & Hove Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers, after he had recovered from a muscle injury that had kept him out for two weeks.
When match-fit and in rhythm, Bissouma can take over matches with and without the ball, displaying the physical and athletic qualities to complement natural gifts in possession. Players with those capabilities, at his age, are not typically discarded for nothing.
But as De Zerbi addressed the media for the final time after keeping Spurs in the Premier League with a final-day 1-0 win over Everton, he parted with an instructive message.
“We have 10, 11, 12 good enough players, especially people,” he said, in response to a question on whether he’d like on-loan midfielder Joao Palhinha to sign for the club permanently. “Then we have to complete the squad with first-level players, because we struggle too much. I suffer a lot, but I think the fans, the board, the players, they suffer too much.”
After two of the worst league seasons in their history, Tottenham can no longer put up with unreliability, and Bissouma, having had many chances to do so, could not get out of his own way in north London. So, for the same reasons why Spurs want Palhinha to stay, Bissouma had to go. Signed for £25million from Brighton in 2022, Bissouma is walking away from the club for nothing when his contract expires on June 30.
Few supporters will have any qualms. Tottenham had the option to trigger a one-year contract extension to keep him at the club or attempt to attract a fee for his services, but were surely put off by their efforts to push a sale through last season. Bissouma was strongly linked with a move to Turkish club Fenerbahce after the English summer transfer window closed in 2025, but an untimely injury put paid to Tottenham’s desire to offload him.
Now, having made just 23 league starts across the past two seasons for a struggling side, Bissouma represents a distressed asset who would demand a small fee, hardly worth the hassle of keeping him around.
Bissouma did not find himself in this situation due to a major or alarming drop-off in form — though he struggled to replicate his performance level from Brighton at Spurs, save for an impressive start to life under Ange Postecoglou in 2023-24 — but due to a reputation that now precedes him off the pitch. Questions about how Bissouma conducts himself away from football have long hung over the midfielder.
At Tottenham, frustrations around his conduct characterised the back end of his four-year stay. In 2024, videos circulated on social media of Bissouma inhaling nitrous oxide, a class-C controlled drug under UK law, for which he was handed a one-match ban by the club at the start of the 2024-25 season.
After Spurs attempted to offload him in the following summer, they were forced into another internal investigation after an image leaked of Bissouma inhaling nitrous oxide from a balloon again. In an interview with The Sun, Bissouma said his actions were a response to a break-in at his family home, which triggered feelings of “fear, panic, depression and paranoia”.
Bissouma did not play again under Thomas Frank, who had removed him from the matchday squad for the Super Cup tie against Paris Saint-Germain due to lateness earlier in pre-season.
And his persistent tardiness was not just a bugbear for staff, but, according to dressing room sources who prefer to remain anonymous to protect relationships, fellow team-mates. Dressing room leaders had frequent chats with Bissouma at several junctures during his time at Spurs, stressing the importance of punctuality and professionalism, but efforts were often futile.
Ultimately, he leaves Tottenham as a “what-could-have-been”, with all the talent to consistently achieve at the top level, but without the steely determination to match.
As for what’s next for Bissouma, it’s hard to say. Perhaps a club from another top-five league will stumble across a highlight reel on YouTube or Wyscout, become enamoured of his obvious physical and technical gifts, and take another chance, dreaming of him realising his potential. Or maybe his difficulty in staying away from the headlines and back pages will put them off. Whatever follows Spurs, it’s up to him whether he’ll make it a success.
As for Tottenham, it’s a player and person out the door that De Zerbi did not trust, and an important step to rebuilding the squad with the aim of re-establishing the club as a European contender.