Young defender Ryan Sessegnon was nowhere to be seen during Tottenham Hotspur’s 1-0 victory over Everton in the Premier League on Monday.
This led to a lot of speculation as it came just days after the Lilywhites suffered a humiliating 3-1 defeat to Sheffield United.
The loss would have been a major cause of frustration to the Tottenham fans.
In addition to being a blow to Spurs’ European hopes for next season, it also came against a side which had been in poor form at the time.
Sessegnon’s absence also came as a surprise as the relatively unknown Tottenham youngster Dennis Cirkin made an appearance on the Spurs bench, whilst he did not.
Since Jose Mourinho was appointed as Tottenham boss, Ben Davies appears to have nailed down the position at left-back whilst Sessegnon’s playing time has been reduced as compared to what it was under Mauricio Pochettino.
One of Sessegnon’s strengths is that he is versatile; in addition to playing as a left-back, he is also able to operate effectively as a left-winger.
However, Tottenham trainer Mourinho appears to prefer Son Heung-Min in that position.
Due to Mourinho’s presence as Spurs coach, there will always be rumours and speculation surrounding the relationship of players from the club with their manager.
Mourinho is a man who is known to end up having hostile relations with members of his playing squad, something which often leads to him departing from clubs that he manages.
Mourinho has since cleared the air on why Sessegnon was not included on the Tottenham bench for the game against Everton. He has said that it was for tactical reasons.
“No, not injury. He’s working with us for a couple of weeks but I thought you’d ask me why Dennis Cirkin, 18-years-old. is on the bench. It’s a very positive thing. I like Dennis very, very much, he works really hard” he said as quoted by Football London.
“To have the opportunity of so many players on bench is very nice and for him to feel like he is an option, like Harvey White was on the bench against Manchester United and Skipp on the bench almost every match. I think it’s also important for the young guys.”
