Pape Matar Sarr may have only spent just over a month with his Tottenham teammates but he has clearly made a big impression at Hotspur Way. Signed from French side Metz last August by Fabio Paratici, it was decided that the Senegal international would return to the Ligue 1 club on loan for the season to help his development.
Starting the season in the Metz team, the 19-year-old, who played in a variety of different roles in midfield, later found himself in and out of the XI before his Tottenham return. Now with the Spurs squad after not training with them 12 months ago after heading straight back out of the door, Antonio Conte has a decision to make in the next fortnight regarding whether Sarr departs on loan again or remains part of his 2022/23 plans.
Playing in both of Tottenham's friendlies on their summer tour of South Korea, Sarr then featured in the 2-1 win at Rangers but was an unused substitute a week later in their final pre-season game against Roma. In contention for a place in the Tottenham squad on the opening day against Southampton amid doubts over Yves Bissouma and Oliver Skipp absent through injury, the Senegalese player unfortunately missed out.
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That was again the case on Sunday afternoon away at Chelsea, but Sarr was there at Stamford Bridge as he took his place behind the dugout with players such as Brandon Austin, Djed Spence and Clement Lenglet who were also not selected. Speaking to SpursTV after the game about Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg's strike, Conte discussed his midfielders and made an exciting claim about Sarr.
"First of all I'm really happy for Pierre because I push a lot my midfielders to arrive at the edge of the box and to shoot," said the 53-year-old. "I think Pierre, Rodrigo, Skippy and Bissouma the same. Sarr is a young guy but if he continues to work in this way he is a really good prospect.
"It was important for us because we also need goals from the midfielders. We concede the second goal in the moment I decided to make two substitutions because I have seen we were a bit in trouble, especially as they had changed again the system to play with wing-backs, and for this reason we conceded a lot of space behind Ben Davies."
Not part of the squad for the 2-2 draw in west London, it was notable that Conte decided to namecheck Sarr when reflecting on the result. He is clearly highly regarded by those at the club and hopefully he will go on to star for the first team in the not too distant future.
Conte and Spurs just need to decide their next move regarding the midfielder, one which could be made right at the end of the transfer window. A loan move would certainly benefit the player's game, but so would spending an extended period of time working under the head coach and his staff and alongside the players.
Tottenham need a fifth midfield option in case injury or suspension strike, with Sarr possibly the man to take on that role for the season after impressing the boss. Providing he continues to work hard and catch the eye of Conte in the process, that could well translate into first-team minutes sooner rather than later.
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