(Makes clear Bissouma represents Mail in paragraph five)
UDINE, Italy :Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Yves Bissouma has been dropped from the squad for Wednesday’s Super Cup clash against Paris St Germain due to his tardiness, manager Thomas Frank said.
Frank also confirmed that striker Dominic Solanke will be available for the start of the new season despite featuring in only one of Spurs’ pre-season friendlies due to an ankle injury.
Speaking on Tuesday before the European season curtain-raiser between the Champions League winners and second-tier Europa League champions, Frank said: “Bissouma has been late several times and now this time, it was one too many.
“With everything, you need to give your players a lot of love but also have demands and have consequences. And this was the consequence of that.”
New arrival Joao Palhinha, on loan from Bayern Munich, could play in place of Ivorian-born Mali international Bissouma, though Tottenham will be without playmaker James Maddison, who faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines with an ACL injury.
New manager Frank’s tenure could start with a gleam of silverware if Spurs manage to defeat European champions PSG, who were beaten by Chelsea in last month’s Club World Cup final.
The Dane added that a lighter pre-season since Tottenham’s Europa League triumph on May 21 could give his comparatively better-rested side an edge over the French team.
“We have had a more normal pre-season which is what every coach would prefer. In that way, it can be an advantage. But on the flip side, they have had a long season and played a lot of games recently,” Frank said.
“It’s the right time to face PSG. We are ready. I am 100 per cent convinced that it will be very super competitive tomorrow.
“But of course, over the whole season they are in a better place to perform better. But in a single game, we will be ready.”
Though Spurs are without former captain Son Heung-min after his move to MLS side LAFC, Frank said their Argentine World Cup-winning defender Cristian Romero would be a key figure.
“Romero is going to be a very important and experienced player for the team. He is going to be a very, very big player for us tomorrow,” he said.
“He is someone who has been in big finals and won them. He definitely knows how to win them.”
