Tottenham plan to extend Yves Bissouma’s contract to stop him leaving on a free transfer at the end of the season.
Bissouma’s current deal expires in June, but the club has a one-year option they intend to trigger to preserve his value if he is not sold in January.
Spurs performed a similar contractual move last season with Son Heung-min, activating an extension before selling him to LAFC in the United States for an MLS record fee of £20million in July.
Bissouma, 29, is unlikely to play again for Tottenham. He made 52 appearances in all competitions last season and started the Europa League final in May but has yet to make a single appearance under Thomas Frank.
Bissouma was dropped as a disciplinary measure for persistent lateness from Frank’s first squad ahead of the Super Cup against Paris Saint-Germain in August, then struck by an injury in training soon afterwards.
On his return to fitness, he injured a knee while playing for Mali in October and required surgery, which has kept him out since. He has not been named in the Champions League squad.
Tottenham plan to extend Yves Bissouma’s contract if they are unable to sell him in January
The midfielder was key last season but has yet to made an appearance under Thomas Frank
Joao Palhinha, Rodrigo Bentancur, Pape Matar Sarr and Archie Gray have shared the load of the two defensive midfield positions in Frank’s usual 4-2-3-1 system.
Bissouma’s latest recovery schedule has him in a fight to be fit in time for international duty at the Africa Cup of Nations, which kicks off in Morocco in December and end with the final on January 18.
Compounding a torrid few months, there were court revelations in November of how he had been a victim of fraud with £800,000 stolen from a bank account with Coutts.
Tottenham will listen to offers in January with Fulham among those monitoring his situation but prospective buyers hoping to see his price cut as his contract winds down will be disappointed if the option is triggered and extends his deal until 2027.
There was fleeting interest in the summer from Turkish clubs Fenerbahce and Galatasaray but it came to nothing. Spurs wanted more than £10m for a player who cost them £25m from Brighton in 2022.
Bissouma, who has been in the Premier League since 2018, when he joined Brighton for £15m from Lille, is settled and thought to favour continuing his career in England.
