LONDON -- Mauricio Pochettino has admitted that Moussa Sissoko wanted to leave Tottenham in the summer and says the club was "sensitive" to the £30 million midfielder's desire play more football elsewhere.
Sissoko did not make a significant contribution in a dismal maiden season at Tottenham but the 28-year-old is finally starting to show the kind of form that convinced the club to match their transfer record on deadline day last summer.
Pochettino was willing to allow Sissoko to leave Spurs, particularly after he described last season as the "worst" of his career and said he wished Pochettino would communicate with him better. The comments did not impress the manager, not least because they had talked on the club's postseason trip to Hong Kong, where Sissoko promised Pochettino he was committed to the club and would improve.
Everton, Marseille and Turkish club Trabzonspor all wanted to sign Sissoko on loan in the summer but Spurs would only entertain permanent bids and, when none came, Pochettino was happy to give him another chance.
"The player [Sissoko] was interested to move or to leave because he wanted to play more in a season that has the World Cup at the end," Pochettino explained.
"But I think that possibility didn't exist and I was more than happy for him to stay and give him the possibility to play. Every player that maybe wasn't involved too much in my plans last season tried to play more.
"It's always a decision between the player and the club and, in this case, he didn't play too much last season or didn't play all that he wanted to, and always the player is looking to move, to try to feel better and try to be important at another club.
"The club is always sensitive in every single situation but in the end we decided to keep him and he decided to stay with us. [Now] it's about moving on and seeing if he deserves the possibility to play."
Sissoko joined Spurs after an impressive Euro 2016 with France but he did not feature at all in preseason while he waited for a transfer following Newcastle's relegation to the Championship.
For Pochettino, Sissoko's poor performances last year can be put down to both his lack of a preseason and the pressure of his massive transfer fee.
"It is never easy to fit and settle from the first moment and then it's a struggle to play because there is a pressure of the transfer fee and it is so difficult. [Zinedine] Zidane struggled at Real Madrid when he moved from Juventus. Big, big names struggle in the first season. It is normal sometimes that something happened," Pochettino explained.
"When we signed him, it was a record for the club and the expectations from the fans, you [the media], everyone is massive and the condition that he arrived was a poor one.
"Not because it was his fault -- it was the circumstances of football. No preseason after the Euros, he wanted to leave from a club that was in the Championship and you arrive on the first of September when the team is so fit."
By contrast, Sissoko has featured in every match this season, starting the past three, and he followed an impressive performance in the 3-2 win at West Ham last weekend with an important assist in Tuesday's 3-0 win at APOEL Nicosia in the Champions League.
Sissoko, who returned to the France squad on Thursday, has impressed on the right side of a midfield diamond and Pochettino says the rest of squad is beginning to to trust him.
"My relationship with him was always good and we were always very clear about what we expected from him. For me, he always behaved very well, very professional but it's normal. Sometimes you struggle to understand what the people expect from you and maybe that was a little bit longer than another player," the manager added.
"[Now] I think he understands better what we expect from him because we are not magic coaching staff that you can touch and create different skill in a player. And I think he understands better what we want from him and he knows better the teammates. It is true we are playing in a different way maybe than last season and he feels more comfortable in that situation.
"Today, what is happening is he is more confident in his skills and himself and the team-mates trust more in him. He improved his self belief and that is so important for a player. When you arrive in a new club and you don't play too much and you struggle to understand it is normal that your self belief starts to go down."