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Moussa Sissoko still in Mauricio Pochettino's first-team plans

By Daniel Lewis, Senior Reporter | 23 July 2017

Moussa Sissoko still in Pochettino's plans

Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino explains that Moussa Sissoko is still a part of his plans, with his tour omission purely down to fitness concerns.

Mauricio Pochettino has insisted that midfielder Moussa Sissoko is still in his plans for the new season, despite being omitted from Tottenham Hotspur's tour squad.

The France international flopped at White Hart Lane in his maiden campaign, making just eight Premier League starts after joining from Newcastle United last summer for £30m.

It was revealed earlier this week that Sissoko will play no part for Tottenham during their trip to the United States, which they kicked off in style with a 4-2 win over Paris Saint-Germain in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Pochettino claims that the 27-year-old's absence is purely down to fitness reasons, though, and he will be integrated back into the squad at a later date.

Spurs assistant Jesus Perez translated Pochettino's Spanish comments, telling reporters: "Basically [Mauricio] explained the situation with Moussa Sissoko and the club. He's training at the training ground. He's a member of the squad. He's in his plans for the season and he is, for us, a member of the squad."

Pochettino added: "[Erik] Lamela, Son [Heung-min] and Moussa are at the training ground, recovering at different levels of training there.

"Danny Rose was in New York and is going tomorrow to London again to start his recovery on the training ground. All of them are at different levels. We will see in the next few weeks the evolution for everyone."

Sissoko is reportedly a loan target for Premier League rivals Everton, who were due to sign him 12 months ago before he opted for Tottenham.