Exclusive: Forest Boss Ange Postecoglou Wants Yves Bissouma Reunion to Boost Midfield

Nottingham Forest boss Ange Postecoglou is mulling over a swoop for Yves Bissouma during the January transfer window, SportsBoom can exclusively reveal.

After taking charge at the City Ground earlier this month, the former Celtic, Tottenham Hotspur chief enters Thursday’s Europa League tie against Midtylland still searching for his first win at the helm since arriving in the east Midlands.

That has prompted Postecoglou to consider freshening-up a squad which emerged as one of the Premier League’s surprise packages last term, with a raid on his old employers Spurs in order to capture Bissouma among the ideas understood to have been discussed at the City Ground.

The 29-year-old excelled under Postecoglou in the capital last term, anchoring his midfield as the north Londoners beat Manchester United to lift the Europa League trophy, that Forest are now trying to capture themselves.

Bissouma has fallen down the pecking order following Thomas Frank’s appointment as Postecoglou’s successor there, with a niggling injury also limiting his first team opportunities.

Although any approach to Spurs would require the blessing of Forest’s head of global football Edu Gaspar, whose presence is thought to have been an important factor behind the fracturing of owner Evangelos Marinakis’ relationship with Postecoglou’s predecessor Nuno, the fact Bissouma is likely to be made available for a relatively modest fee could persuade the Brazilian to sanction a move.

DISCIPLINARY ISSUES

Despite a series of well-documented disciplinary issues, the Mali international’s respect for Postecoglou curbed some of those off-the-pitch excesses and saw him emerge as a key figure for Spurs during the 2024/25 campaign.

Despite being born in the Ivory Coast, Bissouma has been capped by Les Aigles nearly 50 times and was named in the African Confederation’s official Team of the Year 12 months ago.

After starting his career with Real Bamako, Bissouma left Mali to join Lille before heading to England with Brighton and Hove Albion.

Having spent four seasons on the south coast, he was then acquired by Spurs for a reported fee of £30m.