In a not-too-distant alternate reality, Tottenham Hotspur renewing Yves Bissouma’s contract would surely feel like a no-brainer.At 29, there is, in theory, still plenty to come from the Mali captain. At his best, he is undoubtedly a European- and international-level talent, capable of running games from the base of midfield in a manner no Spurs player can, other than perhaps a fit and firing Rodrigo Bentancur. He was instrumental in the Europa League final against Manchester United just over a year ago, winning seven duels and four tackles as he dominated the midfield battle for 90 minutes.He also seems a strong stylistic fit under Roberto De Zerbi. It was telling that the Italian started him ahead of Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall against Brighton & Hove Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers, after he had recovered from a muscle injury that had kept him out for two weeks.When match-fit and in rhythm, Bissouma can take over matches with and without the ball, displaying the physical and athletic qualities to complement natural gifts in possession. Players with those capabilities, at his age, are not typically discarded for nothing.Yves Bissouma played a crucial role in Spurs winning the 2025 Europa League (Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)But as De Zerbi addressed the media for the final time after keeping Spurs in the Premier League with a final-day 1-0 win over Everton, he parted with an instructive message.“We have 10, 11, 12 good enough players, especially people,” he said, in response to a question on whether he’d like on-loan midfielder Joao Palhinha to sign for the club permanently. “Then we have to complete the squad with first-level players, because we struggle too much. I suffer a lot, but I think the fans, the board, the players, they suffer too much.”After two of the worst league seasons in their history, Tottenham can no longer put up with unreliability, and Bissouma, having had many chances to do so, could not get out of his own way in north London. So, for the same reasons why Spurs want Palhinha to stay, Bissouma had to go. Signed for £25million from Brighton in 2022, Bissouma is walking away from the club for nothing when his contract expires on June 30.