Fulham appear to be enjoying a proactive transfer window and their next signing represents a pretty smart bit of business.
Fabrizio Romano first reported that the Cottagers were exploring a deal to bring in free agent Ryan Sessegnon, who has recently been training with Crystal Palace. It was later claimed by Romano and others that the agreement was on the verge of being announced.
Sessegnon was a breakout star at Fulham as a teenager and earned himself a £25 million ($30 million) transfer to Tottenham in 2019. Spurs had just played in the UEFA Champions League final and were looking to strengthen their squad for a big push towards major trophies.
However, for both club and player, the move did not go to plan. Sessegnon only played 57 times in all competitions across five seasons with Spurs and spent 2020/21 in the Bundesliga with Hoffenheim. Since early February of 2023, he has only played seven minutes of senior football, and he left the club at the end of last season.
Thank you, Spurs 🤍 pic.twitter.com/eMuZDA1o3Z
— Ryan Sessegnon (@RyanSessegnon) June 5, 2024
So, what went wrong in north London?
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What went wrong for Ryan Sessegnon at Tottenham?
Sessegnon signed for Tottenham in August 2019 as part of a deal that saw Josh Onomah go the other way, but he did not make his official debut since November due to injury. From then on, muscle problems plagued his time at the club.
According to data from Transfermarkt, Sessegnon missed more than 110 matches for Spurs because of injury issues, specifically relating to a chronic hamstring problem. The disruption to his first season at the club caused by the COVID-19 pandemic also hindered his development. He only played seven 90-minute games.
19y 207d - Ryan Sessegnon has become Spurs' youngest scorer in the Champions League, as well as the first teenager to score for the club in the competition. Dream. #UCL #FCBTOT pic.twitter.com/gTtibf3VU1
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 11, 2019
The player, who can operate anywhere down the left wing, went on loan to Hoffenheim for 2020/21 and enjoyed an encouraging first few weeks. He was voted the fans' player of the month for November, his performances largely strong despite Hoffenheim winning just two of their opening 11 Bundesliga games. He missed more than a month in early 2021 through injury but started every game of a seven-match unbeaten run to end the season.
Yet the injury problems persisted. He played just 15 times in the league in 2021/22 during a turbulent time at the club in which Nuno Espirito Santo and then Antonio Conte took charge. He finally scored his first Spurs league goal in their opening 4-1 win over Southampton to start the 2022/23 season, but just as his career at the club at last looked to be taking off, he was laid low by further hamstring trouble. In the end, he resorted to surgery in a bit to fix the persistent problem with his left hamstring, and just as he was close to a comeback, he was required to undergo an operation on the other leg.
In a social media post in February this year after a setback in his recovery, Sessegnon said he was "gutted beyond belief". He also implored people to "be careful what you say online" after he received a barrage of criticism.
Now, Sessegnon will hope to reignite his career at the club where developed as a youth player before exploding onto the senior stage.
