Claudio Ranieri’s handling of Ryan Sessegnon could intrigue Tottenham this weekend

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Tottenham Hotspur have long been prominent admirers of Fulham’s Ryan Sessegnon, yet the 18-year-old phenom has stayed put at Craven Cottage despite previous interest.

Yet when the two sides face off this weekend in SW6, Claudio Ranieri’s treatment of the young winger could put Spurs on red alert.

Ever since the Italian took over at Fulham this fall, his handling of Sessegnon has been far less charitable than Slavisa Jokanovic. Under the Serbian, Sessegnon was an undisputed starter and barely ever was relegated to the bench or subsituted early in matches.

However, Ranieri has shown less lenience with the 18-year-old, revealing in recent matches he is not afraid to haul off Sessegnon or drop him to the bench.

Against Chelsea, the winger was hauled off at half-time. After recovering from a groin injury, Sessegnon made two subsitute appearances against Wolves and Huddersfield. And most jarringly, Sessegnon was abruptly withdrawn at halftime of Fulham’s loss against Burnley — even when other attackers were far better options to take off.

In all, Ranieri’s treatment of Sessegnon is far from egregious, but when there is significant outside interest from bigger clubs, little gestures and a lack of faith can unsettle even the most loyal of players.

Sessegnon, for his part, has displayed nothing but an undying loyalty to the Fulham cause and has undoubtedly been the most passionate, determined, and distraught Fulham player during the challenging opening months of the campaign.

But if his first-team place is called into question — due to Ranieri’s tough treatment of the winger and the arrival of left winger Ryan Babel — then Tottenham may have an advantage in luring Sessegnon to north London.

With Babel’s signing, it will be fascinating to see whether Ryan Sessegnon starts against Tottenham. If not, then Spurs may be intrigued by the possibility of finally securing the signature of the highly-rated teenager.