Ange Postecoglou already knows £43m Tottenham solution to Yves Bissouma problem

Ange Postecoglou may have the perfect fix for Yves Bissouma when he returns to action for Tottenham which could be in February. The 27-year-old is set to be absent for the first month of 2024 as he competes in the Africa Cup of Nations with Mali, however he will now also miss the remaining fixtures in December.

For the second time this season, Bissouma was shown a Premier League red card with his latest coming in Friday's 2-0 win against Nottingham Forest. Spurs were firmly in control when Bissouma lost possession in his own half before lunging at Ryan Yates in an attempt to win the ball back which initially resulted in a caution being handed out.

VAR then intervened with referee Jarred Gillett choosing to upgrade his punishment from a yellow to red card with Bissouma now having to serve a four-match suspension as its his second dismissal of the season. Therefore, he will miss games against Everton, Brighton, Bournemouth and Burnley in the FA Cup with that final clash arriving on January 5, 2024 just over a week before he heads to AFCON.

The Lilywhites also face Manchester United and Brentford in January with Bissouma likely to miss both if Mali reach the knockout stages which commence on January, 27. While Bissouma only picked up one yellow card in the six games played following his October sending off against Luton, after accumulating four cautions in seven appearances, his form has been suffering.

An individual error from Bissouma very nearly cost Spurs at Etihad Stadium against Manchester City along with mixed displays in defeats to Wolves and West Ham. Given he may not feature for Spurs for over a month, time spent away from the starting XI could do him some good and a major injury return will hopefully coincide with