Yves Bissouma have lifted the lid on his move to Tottenham Hotspur from Brighton & Hove Albion, which is subject to the granting of a work permit. The 25-year-old, who has been heavily linked with a move to north London, has left the Amex Stadium in a deal worth £25million, football.london understand.
He featured 26 times for Graham Potter's side in the Premier League last season, directly contributing towards three goals from the heart of midfield. The Mali international's impressive displays originally courted the interest of Arsenal but, in a quick turn of events, Tottenham have swooped in and poached Mikel Arteta's signing.
football.london reported at the end of the season that Conte was in the market for six new signings, with Bissouma now announced as the third senior arrival at Hotspur Way following Ivan Perisic, Fraser Forster and young goalkeeper Josh Keeley. It's believed that the Italian boss wanted a centre-back, a wing-back, two midfielders, a forward and a backup goalkeeper.
READ MORE: Tottenham complete Yves Bissouma transfer from Brighton
Now, with the former Bissouma joining Perisic, Forster and Keeley at Spurs, Fabio Paratici has taken big strides to gifting Conte his dream summer window. And, it's fair to say that former Brighton midfielder is pleased to have penned a deal at White Hart lane, which keeps him at the club until 2026.
Speaking to the in-house media team at Tottenham, Bissouma expressed his joy in joining the Lilywhites, outlining Champions League qualification as a key factor in his decision.
He said: "It's my dream to play Champions League when I was younger. I remember I was watching Champions League everyday and I can't believe to play Champions League with Spurs. I'm so happy. Thank you to my mum, dad and my agent here. Thank you to everyone. Thank you to Spurs as well."
Champions League qualification seems to have already played a huge factor in Spurs' business this summer. Liverpool were considering a big bid for Son Heung-min this summer had Tottenham not finished in the top four, football.london understand.
Jurgen Klopp has long been an admirer of Spurs' South Korean star and football.london understands that, with Liverpool having been planning for the prospect of losing either Sadio Mane or Mohamed Salah this summer, there had been discussions about testing Tottenham's financial resolve with a big money move for the 29-year-old attacker.
That is not to say that Spurs would have even entertained talks let alone a bid for a hugely popular player they see as vital to Conte's plans and one they handed a big new four-year contract to last summer, or that Son would have agreed to the move, but the Reds have long kept an eye on a Premier League star who has scored three goals in his past four appearances against them.
