Wed 17 July 2019, 16:27
Tottenham HotspurAfter he returned to Hotspur Way last week to start his pre-season training, Moussa Sissoko admitted he was "very happy" to be greeted by a familiar face in Tanguy Ndombele.
A star performer in our 2018/19 campaign, Moussa is well acquainted with our new signing, with the pair having met while on international duty with France.
Having both been selected for the last three Les Bleus squads, the midfield pair have become familiar with each other – especially after they worked together in the centre of the park for the first time for France back in November, 2018, as they both came on as substitutes in a UEFA Nations League match with the Netherlands.
After taking to the pitch with the former Lyon man for his first pre-season sessions as a Spur, Moussa feels like his fellow countryman is already settling in well.
He is trying to make his mark on the team and learn how we work.
“He’s very happy to be here,” our Spurs Legends’ Player of the Year explained. “I know him from the national team and he’s a fantastic player.
“He is trying to make his mark on the team and learn how we work because it's different to France, and also trying to improve his English.
“He's raring to go for the new season and we are very happy to have him here with us.”
And preparations are well underway for the start of that new campaign, with the players already into week two of their pre-season training and having just jetted off to Singapore for the first leg of our summer tour.
Despite the hard work, Moussa explained that spirits are high in the squad with the team excited to be back together and ready to kick on this year.
“The mood of the group is fantastic,” our number 17 smiled. “We’re all happy to see each other again.
“When we’ve been in the changing rooms or sitting together, having breakfast or lunch, we’re talking about our holidays and what we've done over the summer. But we’re also talking about last season and what we can hopefully do this year.
“We know we had a great season last year, so we are all excited for the campaign ahead. It’s a new challenge and hopefully we can do even better than last year.
“Right now, we have to focus on pre-season, try to build our fitness and our confidence so we can be ready for that first game against Aston Villa, because we would like to win something this year.
“Last season we were so close to doing something amazing, so we are all excited to do something this year together.”
