Tottenham’s midfield will not click until their Afcon stars return

Yves Bissouma and Pape Matar Sarr are enjoying runs into the knockout stages of the Africa Cup of Nations with Mali and Senegal respectively. Without them, Tottenham are not the same team

Yves Bissouma in action for Mali against Namibia during the Africa Cup of Nations (AFP via Getty Images)

There is an argument that no team will be so badly affected by the midseason international tournaments as Tottenham. Captain Son Heung-min and midfielders Pape Matar Sarr and Yves Bissouma are all key starting players under Ange Postecoglou, and were instrumental in the team’s fast start to the season, which briefly saw them on top of the Premier League.

The Asian Cup and Africa Cup of Nations have weakened other clubs, of course. But Liverpool’s squad depth has allowed them to cope without Mohamed Salah and Wataru Endo to some degree. Manchester United and Andre Onana might even benefit from some time apart. Whereas Spurs look like a different team without their first-choice midfield.

The statistics are compelling. Tottenham have played 12 games this season with both Bissouma and Sarr in the starting XI, and won nine of those. They’ve played five games without either of the duo, and only won once.

It is a small sample size but enough to back up what is obvious to the eye, glaringly so on Friday night against Manchester City. In fairness, it was a scrappy late goal from a corner which knocked Spurs out of the FA Cup. But City created vatfuls of chances, and they found it easy to glide through Tottenham’s soft centre, a midfield made of mush.

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg looked rusty, summed up by the heavy touch he took in his own box late in the game which gifted the ball to Phil Foden. A surprised Foden passed it on to Kevin De Bruyne, who somehow missed the target from 12 yards.

Beside Hojbjerg was Rodrigo Bentancur, a talented technician who presses well going forwards but whose defensive game is less convincing when on the back foot. At one point in the first half, Mateo Kovacic dribbled from one box all the way to the other, bypassing a static Bentancur en route like he was jogging past a marshall on Park Run.

Bissouma usually provides the assuredness Postecoglou needs at the back, the sort Hojbjerg sometimes lacks. That role is crucial to Spurs, because when the full-backs push up and inside the pitch, the player acting as that central cog must stitch the team back together, from goalkeeper to midfield and forwards. Bissouma does that, and his 91% passing accuracy is testament to a player who rarely makes mistakes. His defensive solidity is important, too: he is among the league’s top 10 tacklers and his 3.7 tackles per 90 minutes is Spurs’ highest by far this season.

Sarr has proved an attacking threat in his box-to-box role (Reuters)

Sarr meanwhile is one of those rare talents who looks equally adept defending on the edge of his own box as he does arriving to score at the other end. He adds energy and physicality, as well as a comfortable ability on the ball, and he is a useful foil for Pedro Porro, pulling out to the right to allow the full-back something akin to a free role.

Bissouma brings control, Sarr adds incision, and they glue the unit together. Without them, Spurs can look ragged and disjointed in their build-up.

The question is just how costly their absence will prove. A Premier League home game against Brentford on Wednesday night is the sort of fixture Spurs would expect to dominate, with the majority of possession. James Maddison returned from injury on Friday and could make his first start since early November. They may just have enough to see off Brentford without their Afcon duo.

Then come Everton away and Brighton at home, two tricky league games which Sarr and Bissouma could miss. The Afcon third-place play-off and final take place on the same weekend as the Brighton game. Afcon semi-finalists will not be back in action until the following weekend at the earliest, potential celebrations pending.

Sarr’s Senegal take on Ivory Coast tonight in a showdown between the reigning champions and the hosts. Senegal have been immaculate so far and there is every chance they will go right to the final again. Bissouma’s Mali meet Burkina Faso tomorrow and are slight favourites to progress.

From here until the end of the season, every point is pivotal. Tottenham are fifth, three points behind all of City, Arsenal and Aston Villa, and it is increasingly hard to imagine any other side outside the top five (leaders Liverpool are the other club) finishing in the top four. Tottenham are in a fight for one of those spots and their FA Cup exit affords them no more distractions: their entire season boils down to 17 remaining league games.

But at least three of them are likely to be played without their central base, perhaps more if recovery time is afforded to Bissouma and Sarr after the tournament. Alongside Son Heung-min’s international commitments, it leaves Spurs hamstrung until mid-February. Postecoglou’s challenge is to navigate through these choppy waters and emerge the other side with their top-four hopes still intact.