Moussa Sissoko could leave Tottenham after 'worst season' with 2018 World Cup looming

Moussa Sissoko could leave Premier League runners-up Tottenham Hotspur this summer after admitting that his first season in North London has been the worst of his career to date. The former Newcastle United midfielder has failed to impress since Spurs pipped Everton to his signature in a club-record £30m ($38.5m) deal on deadline day last year, making just 12 starts across all competitions and only eight in the top-flight.

"I fell from high," Sissoko said in an intriguing interview with L'Equipe, per The Telegraph. "Even though I never thought I would play all the games, I was not expecting such a low playing time. It was the worst season of my career when collectively it was certainly the best - it's weird."

Such a disappointing individual campaign has inevitably given rise to rumours that Sissoko could be set to leave Tottenham already amid links to the likes of Marseille and AC Milan.

Addressing his future, he stated a need for manager Mauricio Pochettino to be clear as to his intentions in order to allow the player, who retains a preference for English football but does not rule out a potential return to France, the necessary time to seek a move elsewhere.

He hopes that Tottenham will not stand in his way if a potential transfer arises, with securing a place at the 2018 World Cup clearly a key priority.

"They know I'm 27, that I'm not a child and I have a World Cup to go and play," he said. "If I have to leave, I hope they won't cause a problem. There is also a little bit of hope that things go better next year. Today, leaving or staying, nothing has really been decided. I'm also going to speak about it with the national team coach. He generally gives good advice. He knows me very well, his opinion is going to count."

He added: "You're never sure of anything. What I want above all is for everything to be clear. If [Pochettino] isn't counting on me, that he thinks the players who are there are better, he should say it. The idea is to be set early to allow my agent to work well if I have to leave.

"Everyone knows that I would prefer to stay in England, but I have not closed the door on other leagues. We will see if there are offers, but Ligue 1 is attractive. We saw that last season with Paris Saint-Germain and Monaco, but also with teams like Lyon, Nice and Marseille. I will analyse everything and make the best decision."

Better communication

In a section of the interview translated by Get French Football, Sissoko, who insists his decision to join Tottenham was not a mistake, also expressed a wish for Pochettino to improve the lines of communication between the pair as he plots his future beyond the summer.

"I would like him to communicate better. I want a completely honest conversation to see what they plan to do, what they are seeing in terms of my future. From that moment on, everything will be clearer in my head."

An influential performer for his country in their run to the final of Euro 2016 on home soil, Sissoko has been named in the latest France squad for friendlies against Paraguay and England and a World Cup qualifying clash with Sweden in Stockholm. However, Les Blues boss Didier Deschamps has warned that he must play more regularly next term in the build-up to Russia.