Yves Bissouma voted WeAreBrighton.com Player of the Month for June 2020
The three month break in Premier League action has allowed several Brighton & Hove Albion players to rediscover their form after a testing run of just two wins in 19 games. No player has looked quite as rejuvenated though as Yves Bissouma, with the result being him topping the polls for the June 2020 WeAreBrighton.com Player of the Month.
Bissouma was the only central midfielder who Graham Potter started in all three of the Albion’s fixtures. Not only that, but he seems to have returned with a new-found maturity to his game which has seen him overtake Dale Stephens as Potter’s first choice holding midfielder.
Six months ago that would have been a laughable prospect. Bissouma lacked the discipline and the defensive qualities to carry out such a role on a regular basis.
His first 18 months at the club highlighted that; for every flash of brilliance, there was a failure to track back or naivety in possession which you simply cannot afford to have when playing in front of the back four.
Ironing out those flaws in Bissouma’s game could yet prove to be Potter’s most important work of the season. In June, Bissouma has become a genuine Premier League class defensive midfielder and that makes him a deserved winner of the Player of the Month award.
In Brighton’s 2-1 win against Arsenal, he covered every blade of grass – as well as somehow getting away with a double figure number of fouls without a booking.
His work rate against Leicester City was equally extraordinary and the role it played in nullifying a quality attacking side didn’t really get the appreciation it deserved.
Bissouma struggled slightly during the 3-0 defeat to Manchester United, but he wasn’t the only one – and it should hardly come as a surprise given that Paul Pogba and Bruno Fernandes had one of those days where they rival any midfield pairing on the planet.
Second to Bissouma for June Player of the Month was Tariq Lamptey, whose 18.22% share of the vote was presumably based on his full Premier League debut against Leicester.
It was some debut too. None of Jamie Vardy, James Maddison or Harvey Barnes could get any change out of Lamptey as he played like an international defender rather than a 19-year-old.
In just 90 minutes, Lamptey seemed to establish himself as the Albion’s first choice right back ahead of Martin Montoya and our WeAreBrighton.com February Player of the Month Ezequiel Schelotto.
Not since Abdul Razak made his first Amex appearance in a Brighton shirt have we been so blown away by a young talent. Unlike Razak, Lamptey doesn’t appear to be a one-hit wonder either and has subsequently followed that showing at the King Power up with a couple more equally impressive performances.
Unfortunately, he didn’t enjoy quite as good an evening against United. That was through no fault of his own; rather Potter deciding to play him out-of-position on the right wing as part of a team selection that looked like it had been dreamt up by a man who had spent the previous four days inhaling adhesives.
Another victim of Potter’s pre-United glue sniffing was Neal Maupay, who found himself among the substitutes against the Red Devils. Maupay replaced Lamptey at half time and with their top scorer now on the pitch, Brighton were much more of a threat against the visitors in a hugely improved second half.
The difference in the Albion’s performance with Maupay on the pitch compared to off it highlighted just what a crucial player he has become this season. June was another good month for him with a third place Player of the Month finish with 14.49% of the vote.
Maupay grabbed all the headlines when Arsenal came to the Amex. He was involved in the incident which saw Bernd Leno stretchered off, leading to some hysterical Gunners fans to call for him to be sent off, banned, locked in the Tower of London and executed.
He then scored the 95th minute winner which secured the 2-1 win for the Albion, got throttled by Matteo Guendouzi at the final whistle and then used a post game interview to tell Arsenal they needed to learn some humility.
It was a top-drawer display of shithouse behaviour from Maupay, so much so that we won’t even mention that missed penalty away at Leicester three days later.
Yves Bissouma – 56.07%
Tariq Lamptey – 18.22%
Neal Maupay – 14.49%
Lewis Dunk – 7.01%
Aaron Connolly – 2.8%
Dan Burn – 1.4%
