Italian sources already linking Moussa Sissoko with a loan to Juventus and Inter

Well, that sure didn’t take long. Just two days after Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino put the verbal smack-down on £30m Spurs signing Moussa Sissoko, the Frenchman is already getting linked with loan moves to Italy.

According to Calciomercato, both Juventus and Inter Milan are “monitoring” Sissoko. This comes after Pochettino essentially said that Sissoko’s absence from the past two Tottenham league matches was “tactical” and that he hasn’t been showing enough in training or in matches to warrant selection. The article also says that Everton, Sevilla, and PSG are also interested in a player that has only been at Spurs for two months.

Now, look: this is Calciomercato. This is often where the phrase “Italian sources” originates when you see that in other transfer stories. This is a... dubious source on a good day, and and emphatically lol most of the rest of the time. Moreover, I have an extremely difficult time seeing how Sissoko would fit in with the reigning Italian champions when he apparently can’t cut the mustard for the fifth place team in England. (Inter Milan is a little more believable, but only because they have a long history of making ridiculous and ill-advised player purchases.)

HOWEVER! If things are as bad as what they appear between Sissoko and Spurs, this rumor could be a bellwether for many (many!) more future rumors linking Sissoko away from the club. And for a lot of fans, that’s not a bug, that’s a feature. A number of fans I’ve talked to on Twitter and elsewhere have already started dreaming about selling Sissoko to China for £20m and a bag of chips at the earliest possible opportunity. We won’t know whether any departure rumors have legs for a while yet — there’s still time for Sissoko to start knuckling down and re-establishing himself in the current Spurs squad.

So no, you shouldn’t believe this rumor. It is 100% batcountry and almost certainly has no basis in reality. But gird your loins for a lot more rumors about Sissoko’s exit as we start nearing the opening of the January transfer window.

At least it’ll keep us entertained.