The statistic that should end Sissoko’s right-back opportunities at Tottenham

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Mauricio Pochettino made a rather left-field change to his starting lineup at the weekend, with Moussa Sissoko featuring at right-back for Tottenham Hotspur.

With Serge Aurier suspended, the Argentine tactician decided natural midfielder Sissoko would be the best replacement for the Ivorian against Brighton.

It was something a number of Spurs fans on social media were keen to see, but unfortunately the Frenchman did not fare particularly well.

The north Londoners slipped to a shocking 3-0 defeat at the Amex Stadium, and few are now open to Sissoko operating out of position going forwards.

Interestingly, a statistic has come to light which suggests the former Newcastle United player is wasted at right-back anyway.

In a report from football.london which uses Wyscout data, Sissoko is actually Tottenham’s most accurate passer in the final third with a completion rate of 93.75%.

That puts him fifth out of all players across the top five European leagues.

TBR’s view

The stat reinforces the idea of Sissoko being a box-to-box midfielder.

Him playing right-back was a failed experiment against Brighton and Pochettino must put his faith in either Walker-Peters of Juan Foyth and allow £80,000-a-week star Sissoko (Spotrac) to flourish further forward.

The 30-year-old’s high accuracy is very encouraging for Spurs and the likes of Harry Kane and Heung-min Son simply have to benefit from it.