Yves Bissouma

Key strength: Ball retention

Deep-lying playmaker

In the wreckage of Tottenham Hotspur's catastrophic collapse to 18th place, Yves Bissouma stands as an island of reliability amid the north London storm. While Spurs' season teeters on the brink, the 29-year-old Malian midfielder has quietly amassed 199 appearances since his £20 million arrival from Brighton in 2022, becoming the spine of this beleaguered side. His statistical modesty—7 goals and 2 assists—belies his true worth as Tottenham's midfield anchor. What separates Bissouma is almost superhuman discipline: one solitary yellow card across 13,132 minutes of Premier League intensity. Operating as the protective shield for defenders Cristian Romero and Radu Drăgușin, the €10 million-rated destroyer combines relentless ball-winning with intelligent recycling possession to teammates James Maddison and Mohammed Kudus ahead of him. Bissouma's controlled authority offers the one constant that beleaguered supporters can trust—a deep-lying playmaker in a defensive body, destroying opposition attacks before calmly resetting the tempo.