Yves Bissouma

Yves Bissouma (born 30 August 1996) is a professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur. Born in the Ivory Coast, he represents the Mali national team.

Born in Issia, Ivory Coast, Bissouma trained at the prestigious Majestic SC academy in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, an academy partnered with JMG Academy in Bamako, Mali. At age 13, he was scouted to the academy in Mali, trained there for five years, where he played with future Mali international Adama Traoré. At age 18, he joined Real Bamako.

He caught the attention of French scouts in the African Nations Championship in February 2016. On 7 July 2016, four months after having arrived at Lille OSC from AS Real Bamako, Bissouma signed his first professional contract with the club, with a duration of three years.

On 17 July 2018, Bissouma transferred to English side Brighton & Hove Albion for an undisclosed fee, signing a five-year contract with the club. He made his debut for the Sussex club on the opening day of the 2018–19 Premier League season in a 2–0 away loss to Watford where he came on as a substitute. He made his first start in Brighton's third match of the season, a single-goal defeat at Liverpool. On 5 January 2019, Bissouma scored his first Albion goal on his FA Cup debut in a 3–1 away win against south coast rivals Bournemouth in the third round.

He scored his first Premier League goal on the last day of the 2019–20 season with a long-range shot in a 2–1 away win against Burnley.

Bissouma was given a straight red card late on in Brighton's 3–0 away victory over Newcastle in their second league match of the 2020–21 season for catching Jamal Lewis in the face with his boot. He scored his first goal of the season in a 4–2 away defeat against Everton on 3 October. On 23 January 2021, in a fourth round FA Cup tie, Bissouma scored a 30-yard goal to put Brighton ahead in a 2–1 home win against Blackpool.

On 21 August, in Brighton's second match of the 2021–22 season he made his first Albion assist, to Neal Maupay in a 2–0 home victory over Watford. Bissouma scored his first goal of the season on 5 February 2022, putting Brighton one behind Tottenham in an eventual 3–1 away loss in the FA Cup fourth round. In April, he was suspended for Brighton's 3–0 away loss at Manchester City and 2–2 home drew against Southampton after picking up ten yellow cards. Returning from suspension, Bissouma scored a 20-yard effort finding the bottom corner, scoring Albions' third in a 3–0 away victory over Wolves taking Brighton's point tally to 44, breaking their record of 41 in the Premier League. A week later, Bissouma played the whole match of the 4–0 home win against Manchester United, which at the time was tied for Brighton's largest top-flight victory.

On 14 June 2022, Tottenham Hotspur agreed a £30m deal for Bissouma. Three days later, Tottenham confirmed the signing of Bissouma, with the Malian signing a four-year deal. On 6 August, Bissouma made his debut for the club, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 4–1 win over Southampton in the Premier League.