Ryan Sessegnon has joined Hoffenheim on loan for the remainder of the 2020/2021 season.
His first year at Tottenham Hotspur has been an awkward one. It’s not been good, but it’s not been bad. It’s just been nothing?
Out of his 12 appearances last season, only six of them came in the Premier League.
Injuries were unfortunately the only consistent thing about his campaign, constantly stalling any chance of him breaking into the first team.
Spurs’ recent capture of Sergio Reguilon was met with a buzz, for everyone but Sessegnon – who is painfully aware that this is now a horrible obstacle in his path to consistent minutes.
The 20-year-old was constantly linked with a loan deal throughout the summer, and a host of teams were interested - but it was reported that Jose Mourinho wanted to keep him fighting for places.
Mourinho’s viewpoint seemed to change towards the final days of the window, and Sessegnon was loaned out to Hoffenheim in a bid for game-time so that he will be better equipped to fight for his place at Spurs next year.
Another Bundesliga success?
Brighton, Southampton, and Ajax were all very interested in loaning the talented 20-year-old.
But it appeared Spurs held out for a Bundesliga club, in an attempt to make sure history repeats itself – with success stories like Jadon Sancho and Reiss Nelson possibly influencing the decision.
These two (especially Sancho) have started a trend of young English players boarding the plane to Germany in an attempt to catapult their careers. Sancho even made the bolder leap of signing permanently.
Spurs fans, and Sessegnon himself, will be optimistic that this story can become the next in line for an English player to excel in the Bundesliga.
It’s a great move for him. Hoffenheim are in the Europa League, just like Spurs. The quality of football will not be a massive step down by any means, and their 4-1 dismantling of Bayern Munich suggests that they mean business this season.
If he implements himself into this squad, it’s a massive statement in suggesting that he’s good enough to feature in this Spurs squad. Some would even say he is now.
It’s his time to shine.
Hype and then the reality check
At 18-years-old he was one of the best players in the Championship and a major factor in Fulham’s return to the Premier League.
The combined 21 goals and assists in the 2017/2018 season would be an accomplishment for a player of any age or experience, but the fact that it was done by a teenager makes it even more impressive.
The hype around him was gargantuan. Every top team wanted to lure him away from Fulham, and it felt a no brainer to splash the cash on this starlet.
After an average time in the Premier League, a summer move to an elite club was long-awaited, and it was long time admirers Spurs who landed him.
It was very well received by Tottenham fans. One of the best young talents in the country has been tied down to a five-year deal, and the £25 million pounds spent (despite his age) felt reasonable for his showings in the Championship.
That’s it, right? The top of the game had a seat waiting for Sessegnon. Now he’s got the move to a top-six side, it’s only destiny that he takes on the world and becomes an elite player with Spurs.
Not quite.
There are three important bits of context to remember when evaluating Sessegnon’s first season at Spurs.
He arrived with a niggling injury from Fulham, which eventually plagued his season. He suffered it while playing for England Under-21s in June 2019 and it meant that he didn’t have a proper pre-season before starting his Spurs career.
He then aggravated the problem in September and didn’t make his debut until November.
Also, the manager who signed him left three months later. Mauricio Pochettino was a huge admirer of him and tried to sign him from the moment he made his entrance at Fulham.
The Argentine may have had a very different plan to the one Mourinho has had for the England-U21 international.
His age does need to be taken into consideration. Sessegnon may seem older because of the incredible 120 games he racked up for Fulham before he had even celebrated his 19th birthday.
He had, and still has, a lot of maturing to do.
Not many 19-year-olds are implanting themselves into top-six sides, so to write off Sessegnon at his first failure would be naive.
Position puzzle
What makes Sessegnon’s story even more interesting is that he slowly transitioned from a fullback into an attacking player on the left-wing for Fulham.
That has brought some comparisons to Gareth Bale, who went from fullback to a global superstar in attack at Tottenham. All of this makes projecting Sessegnon’s potential ceiling an intriguing proposition.
This very point has also, partly, been one of the reasons behind his downfall so far.
The difference between the two transitions is that Bale slowly became a pure winger, and never looked back.
While Sessegnon is stagnating between the two, having a solid spell of games on the left side of defence before the introduction of Japhet Tanganga earlier in the season.
It’s still fair to wonder whether Sessegnon’s true destiny is to become a star as an attacker or an elite wing-back.
Considering the high bar that has been set in terms of being an elite wide player, perhaps it would be easier for Sessegnon to become one of the best wing-backs in the world.
His defensive work is sound because of his speed, as he can hound opponents after a turnover to regain possession.
He’s also smart in covering for teammates if they go bombing forward instead so that the team isn’t faced with a disadvantage during counterattacks.
With his defensive work, speed, and crossing, Sessegnon has the traits to be an awesome left wing-back- if that’s the path Mourinho wants to choose.
A question he needs to answer is his ability to beat his marker in 1v1 duels on the ball, especially higher up the pitch. He is a left-footed player who lines up on the left-wing, which has gone out of fashion with the rise of the inverted winger.
His talent is undeniable, but exactly which position best suits his skill set is up for debate.
In an attacking sense, Sessegnon hasn’t made his mark at all on the left-hand side of Spurs’ attack, although that is not an easy feat with the competition of Son Heung-Min in the pecking order.
When called upon for the first team, he was seen at left-back and put in solid enough performances. You just feel he is more than that.
Time will tell, but Mourinho will be watching his performances in Germany with a keen eye.