Sport Witness

Yves Bissouma hasn’t made an appearance for Tottenham Hotspur this season mainly due to injuries. This saw him miss five matches for Mali in the last three international breaks.

The midfielder started in Mali’s 4-1 World Cup qualifier win over Madagascar in October.

His situation at Tottenham didn’t stop Mali manager Tom Saintfiet including the 29-year-old in his list for AFCON. They are set to face Zambia later today in the first group stage fixture.

Saintfiet has confirmed the Tottenham player is out of the match-day squad due to injury. Pierrot Le Foot have relayed his comments.

The coach says the national team’s doctors are in regular contact with the Spurs medical staff over his injury situation.

“In many major tournaments, some players start with injuries and then become their team’s most dangerous players in the quarterfinals, semifinals, or final. Hakimi is also on Morocco’s roster, and there’s a reason for that, because he’s one of those great players who are important,” he said.

“Yves is my captain; he’s important, he’s a leader of our team. But we didn’t make this decision alone. Our doctor is in contact with Tottenham’s medical staff.

“We have assurances that Yves will be ready during the tournament. When the matches get tougher, we’ll be glad to have him with us. We need a captain who’s present both mentally and physically.”

Pierrot Le Foot report there’s hope within the national team camp that Bissouma returns to training to face Morocco on Boxing Day.

Bissouma has played 42 matches for his country so far. His absence due to an injury will be a big miss for Mali against Zambia on Monday.

Two days ago, we covered claims from Italy that Fiorentina are working on taking Fabio Paratici away from Tottenham Hotspur.

On Sunday, the UK press explained Spurs haven’t been approached for their sporting director. The Italian media now bring more on Paratici.

Calciomercato give an insight into why Fiorentina decided to bet on the Tottenham man.

The Serie A side are currently bottom of the table, five points behind 17th placed Parma. They registered their first league win of this season against Udinese on Sunday.

La Viola want to bring in the Tottenham director as their head of football and give him full control. After internally agreeing on this, the Italian club contacted the 53-year-old.

He ‘immediately expressed openness’ for further talks. Therefore, La Viola officials travelled to England to hold talks with Paratici, and the negotiations took off.

Firenze Viola report the Tottenham director has ‘already given his approval’ to Fiorentina, after receiving necessary guarantees. They add he could bring in former Spurs scout Leonardo Gabbanini to help him.

Over at TuttoMercatoWeb, they claim Paratici is getting closer to joining the Italian club.

He returned to the north London club in October. Therefore, La Viola have to agree terms with the Europa League winners.

TMW state: ‘The deadlines for finalising his agreement with Spurs must be respected, and there is still uncertainty as to when this will happen, but Fiorentina’s choice has been made.’

To sum it up, Fiorentina are working on finding an agreement with Spurs after Paratici said yes to them.

The next few hours will be ‘decisive’ as Tottenham Hotspur Head of Sport Fabio Paratici negotiates a move to Fiorentina.

That’s according to Gianluca di Marzio and Tuttomercatoweb. They both report that Paratici may be on the way out of Tottenham at some point today.

TMW report that there are more and more ‘concrete signs’ tat Paratici is about to accept the proposal from the Italian team. It was reported today that talks with the Tottenham man were underway and a five-year deal was on the table.

TMW now report that there has been ‘direct contact’ between the Tottenham man and Fiorentina. According to their information, Paratici has ‘already expressed his approval’ towards the proposal from the Tuscan club.

That’s considered a ‘significant opening’ in a negotiation which is now in the final stages. The various parties are working to define the final details before making the move official.

Gianluca di Marzio reports the sae. According to them, Paratici wants to leave Tottenham and return to Italy. There have been positive contacts between him and Fiorentina in the last few hours. In fact, Fiorentina are confident that they will receive the ‘final ok’ before too long.

The next few hours are seen as ‘decisive’, with Paratici currently in London ahead of Tottenham’s clash with Liverpool this evening. That could end up being his final game at the club if the current positive talks with Fiorentina continue at their current pace.

Fiorentina are pushing to convince Tottenham’s Fabio Paratici to become their Head of Football and leave Spurs

That’s according to journalist Matteo Moretto. He reports on Fiorentina’s efforts to hire the Tottenham sporting director.

He first reported earlier today that Fiorentina were ‘betting on’ Fabio Paratici to become the new Head of Football at their club. They have reportedly offered him a five-year deal to do so.

Moretto has now followed that up, reporting that negotiations between Fiorentina and Tottenham’s sporting director have advanced.

According to his information, the Italian club are pushing to convince the Tottenham executive to accept their offer. They are in constant contact with him about the potential move and there is a belief that there could be a breakthrough in the short term.

The indication is that they are confident they can convince Paratici to return to Italy. He’s only been back with Tottenham since October after serving a 30 month ban from football for his role in alleged false accounting and financial irregularities during his time as sporting director and managing director at Juventus.

The ban was initially imposed by the Italian Football Federation and then extended worldwide by FIFA. He subsequently stepped down from his role at Tottenham but returned in October. Now he could be set for a return to Italy, with Fiorentina working hard to get him.

Tottenham Hotspur appear to have secured themselves a future star in Luka Vuskovic, or a major profit if not.

That’s at least if the latest from BILD is anything to go by. They cover a ‘market value explosion’ in the Bundesliga and how Vuskovic is part of it.

He’s currently on loan at HSV Hamburg from Tottenham. He joined them in the summer after Tottenham elected to send him out on another loan deal to gain experience.

That’s proven to be a smart choice. He’s quickly established himself as a key player in the Bundesliga. His performances have been noted too, with him winning the Bundesliga Rookie of the Month in September and October already.

He looks like a potential star of the future, and BILD now report that is reflected in his market value. According to them, his value has skyrocketed from €18m at the start of the season to €45m at this moment in time.

He’s one of several youngsters in the Bundesliga enjoying a boom, alongside the likes of Lennart Karl, Said El Mala and Yan Diomande. What it means for Tottenham, remains to be seen. Either way, it appears they’re on to a winner with the youngster.

Tottenham Hotspur will have one of their midfielders heading into the Africa Cup of Nations with renewed purpose, judging by comments from Mali this week.

According to African Foot United, Yves Bissouma spoke during the official ceremony in which the Malian national team received the country’s flag ahead of the tournament.

The event carries strong symbolism, linking honour, responsibility and expectation. On this occasion, the Tottenham player left no doubts about the squad’s ambitions.

“We dream of bringing this trophy back to Bamako, and nothing and no one will be able to stop us,” Bissouma said. As captain, he took full responsibility for setting the tone. His words reflected a confident and defiant mindset. Mali no longer seem content with the label of serious outsiders at the Africa Cup of Nations.

The tournament also comes at a delicate moment in Bissouma’s club career. He he has recently lost his place in the Premier League side due to a knee injury, which has kept him sidelined since 15 August. And in addition, he has faced several off-pitch controversies, increasing the pressure around him.

Still, those issues did not feature in his speech. Instead, Bissouma focused on unity, maturity and collective responsibility. He stressed that this Malian generation believes it has the quality to go all the way. He also highlighted the importance of support from the nation.

With a squad that blends experience and youth, Mali approach the Africa Cup of Nations with belief rather than caution.

We’ll see if that confidence leads to glory, either for Mali or even for Tottenham.

Earlier this week, L’Interista reported Tottenham’s Guglielmo Vicario is Inter Milan’s priority target for next summer.

The goalkeeper has come under criticism this season, also being booed by Spurs fans during the loss to Fulham.

Despite questionable form, Inter see Vicario as a replacement for Yann Sommer. L’Interista report the 29-year-old Tottenham player is at the top of the Nerazzurri’s shortlist.

The player’s own stance over his future is playing a key role in the potential transfer. There’s a belief that in recent months, Vicario has built a determination to return to Italy.

He feels that his chapter at Tottenham and in England has concluded. The goalkeeper has been ‘enriched’ by his Premier League experience, and the Europa League title win.

It’s almost presented as him having moved to English football as some sort of finishing school, and now he’s ready to go home. The Italian media never truly believe their footballers can be content elsewhere/

Getting the player from Tottenham is seen as a statement of intent, with Inter unlikely to have problems covering Vicario’s €2.8m wages.

Tottenham are believed to want €25m to sell the Italy international, with the Nerazzurri seeking further negotiations and a figure closer to €20m.

While North London may be firmly split between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, it seems some bonds refused to be broken by it.

Former Arsenal star Thomas Vermaelen has revealed, to Ajax Showtime, that he and Tottenham hero Jan Vertonghen refused to let it get in their way.

Vermaelen has been speaking to the website about his career today. He discussed various parts of his career, including his early days at Ajax.

He was a product of their youth academy, and that mean he spent time playing with Vertonghen for Jong Ajax. They then stepped up to the Ajax first team.

Their careers went separate ways in 2009 when Vermaelen moved to Arsenal. Vertonghen didn’t end up in England until another three years later, when he joined Tottenham in a €12m deal in 2012. He had actually replaced his friend as Ajax’s first choice and captain after his departure.

Their transfers led to a new scenario, though, playing on opposite teams. Not only that, playing for fierce rivals in Arsenal and Tottenham.

They fortunately only came up against each other twice in the North London derby. And it seems that may have helped with maintaining their friendship.

“We didn’t see each other as rivals and awarded each other the best,” he said.

“It’s obviously a very big derby in England, but Jan and I still saw each other off the field. It’s not that I thought, oh, you’re playing at Tottenham now, I don’t like you as much. It lives mainly with the supporters.”

Leeds United appear to be one step ahead of Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur for Sevilla forward Rubén Vargas.

That’s at least according to Orgullo Biri. They report Leeds are working on a proposal worth €20m for the Swiss international. That puts them ahead of Aston Villa and Tottenham, who are only ‘closely monitoring’.

They both value his ‘dribbling skills’ and international experience but have not submitted formal offers as yet. Like Leeds, their interest goes back to earlier this year.

Aston Villa were credited with an interest while Monchi was still their director of football while Tottenham were named as suitors back in September. Both were then said to have sent scouts in a report back in November.

It appears Leeds are at the front of the queue, though. A report three days ago stated that they were preparing a €20m bid and Orgullo Biri are now saying the same. That appears to put them ahead of Aston Villa and Tottenham for the time being.

It’s also created a dilemma for Sevilla. €20m is more than Vargas’ current valuation of €12m and such a sale would provide a much-needed financial boost to strengthen the squad.

But losing Vargas, who is a key player, would also be a significant blow. It would weaken them in the attacking areas. It’s something the Spanish side need to weigh up as Leeds prepare their move.

Earlier this month, InterLive.it reported Inter Milan could offer Davide Frattesi to Tottenham Hotspur as part of a deal for Guglielmo Vicario. They also said Spurs sporting director Fabio Paratici is a big fan of the midfielder.

InterLive.it didn’t specify whether the Europa League winners have an interest in Frattesi.

L’Interista now report Tottenham have been keeping a close watch on the 26-year-old for some time.

He’s been limited to 198 minutes from eight league games this season. The player is said to be planning to change clubs in the winter market. The report looks at the possible destinations and Tottenham get a mention.

It’s claimed the Italy international has received interest from several clubs and among these, Juventus and AS Roma stand out.

L’Interista makes it clear it’s their own information. They state the north London club, and Napoli have been added to this list.

The Italian club aren’t against sanctioning Frattesi’s sale in January but have ‘set a clear condition’. The outlet explains the Nerazzurri want over €30m and are unlikely to budge.

For now, a move to Tottenham is a possibility in January. It needs to be seen whether Thomas Frank’s side will meet Inter’s demand for the player admired by Paratici.