Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino has given a withering assessment of summer signing Moussa Sissoko's impact at the club, after the Frenchman was excluded from the Argentine's 18-man squad to face league leaders Chelsea on Saturday.
After seeing his Spurs side go down 2-1 to Antonio Conte's rampant side, theDaily Mailreport that Pochettino derided the impact the ex-Newcastle man has had since his Deadline Day arrival in North London, saying that Sissoko hadn't proved himself worthy of a place even on the bench.
"[Sissoko] was at home, he wasn't here," Pochettino explained, when asked about the absence of the man who cost in the region of £30m, on the final day of the summer transfer window.
"Football is not about money," the former Southampton boss continued, clearly intending to send a message to Sissoko that it takes more than a bumper price tag to earn a place in his plans.
"It is about you being better, and that you show on the training ground that you are better than another team-mate and you deserve to be involved or not.
"I need to take the decisions and I believe that the players that started and the players on the bench deserved to be involved."
26 - Chelsea have won 26 games against Tottenham in the Premier League; their most against one side in the competition's history. Brag.
"There's nothing else to find in it. It is about football. Different things happen. You sign a player and then youexpect something, and you don't find what you expected," Pochettino expanded.
That statement that may bring smiles to the faces of Newcastle fans, who knew just how hot and cold Sissoko, who endured a miserable season during the Magpies' relegation, before starring in the Euro 2016 final, could be.
"If another [player] deserves to be involved, like maybe Josh Onomah or Vincent Janssen, they will be involved. Why, because we pay [big] money, [does Sissoko] deserve to play? He needs to work hard and toshow infuture that he deserves to be in the team," Pochettino concluded.