Liverpool, Manchester United and Real Madrid wanted Tottenham midfielder in the summer - Reports
Real Madrid, Liverpool, and Manchester United were all interested in signing Yves Bissouma before he chose to join Tottenham Hotspur summer, as per the Athletic.
The Mali international signed for Spurs after they agreed to pay a fee of £25 million to Brighton & Hove Albion. The midfielder is in the prime years of his career and was ready to take the next step in his career before the start of the 2022-23 campaign.
Bissouma wasn't short of suitors, with some of Europe's biggest clubs keeping an eye on the midfielder. Eventually, he opted to sign for Tottenham and fight for a starting berth in manager Antonio Conte's starting XI.
So far, he has been unable to displace Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Rodrigo Bentancur in Conte's midfield. Bissouma's only Premier League start came against West Ham United in a 1-1 draw on August 31 due to Rodrigo Bentancur's unavailability.
In total, he has played just 155 minutes of league football under manager Antonio Conte. The former Inter Milan manager claimed last month that Bissouma is having difficulty adjusting to his tactical demands at Spurs.
He said (h/t 90min):
"The only player that is struggling a bit with the tactical aspect is Bissouma, but also he is improving a lot in every aspect."
Conte has also asked Bissouma to work on the defensive side of his game. He continued:
"With the ball, he’s really good, defensively he has to pay more attention. More attention because especially we only have two midfielders and then they have to be good with the ball and without the ball..."
Real Madrid, Manchester United, and Liverpool made signings in midfield this summer
Real Madrid, Manchester United, and Liverpool may have missed out on Bissouma, but they signed midfielders nonetheless.
Los Blancos brought in Aurelien Tchouameni from AS Monaco for a fee of around £85 million. A few weeks after the Frenchman's arrival at the Santiago Bernabeu, Casemiro left Madrid to join Manchester United, who also signed Christian Eriksen on a free transfer.
Liverpool arguably needed to strengthen their midfield the most. However, they only managed to sign Arthur Melo on loan from Juventus with an option to buy for £37.5 million.
Manager Jurgen Klopp is said to be disappointed with the Brazilian's signing and is now eyeing a move for Inter Milan's Marcelo Brozovic. Arthur is yet to feature in a league game for the Reds this season.