‘It was amazing” - Former Newcastle United midfielder Moussa Sissoko opens up about his time on Tyneside as he prepares to face the Magpies with Watford

Moussa Sissoko spent three and a half seasons at Newcastle, impressing enough to earn him a big-money move to Tottenham Hotspur in summer 2016.

Despite leaving under a cloud when Newcastle were relegated to the Championship Sissoko, speaking to Watford’s club site, revealed he had ‘a great time’ at Newcastle:

“I remember when I first came to Newcastle, my first experience in the English league, it was amazing and I had a great time there,” the Frenchman said.

“The league was amazing, but now the quality is even higher than before and each year you see some amazing players come in.

“Each week you play against the best players in the world, that is exciting for a player.

“The best feeling is to be on the pitch, trying to compete against the best players in the world and playing in front of thousands of fans. You can’t have a better life than that.”

Sissoko also spoke about his compatriot Allan Saint-Maximin.

The winger has been grabbing all the headlines for Newcastle this season and, much like his manager, Sissoko recognises the danger Saint-Maximin poses his side:

“For me, he is a key player for them,” Sissoko added.

“You have to make sure to be close to him during the whole game and make sure he gets as little of the ball as he can because we know if we give him space, he has skills and he can bring danger at any time.

“He won’t be alone on the pitch, so you need to be careful of other players - if you only focus on one player, another one can bring danger.

“But I think the main thing is for us to be focused on our own game, on trying to do what we want to do and play with our quality, and I think if we do that we won’t be far from winning the game.

“Let’s start on the front foot, be ready from the first minute and make sure that we are ready to win the game, because three points are going to be important for the rest of the season.”

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