‘What a player’ – Postecoglou extremely impressed with Spurs 20-year-old

Ange Postecoglou has lavished praise on Pape Matar Sarr, admitting that he is one of the players who has really excited him in his first few weeks working with the Tottenham squad.

Sarr ended up playing 212 minutes across 11 appearances in the Premier League last season due to Tottenham’s injury crisis in midfield and the youngster showed plenty of promise.

Perhaps his best performance came away at the San Siro in the round of 16 stage of the Champions League, with the 20-year-old displaying maturity beyond his years alongside Oliver Skipp in the middle of the park.

Alasdair Gold claimed via Football.London earlier this month that the former Metz star’s versatility and his confidence on the ball could see him play a more prominent role under Postecoglou this season.

The journalist also suggested that the Australian might decide to loan the youngster out if he feels that would be ideal for his development.

Postecoglou has loved what he’s seen from Sarr

However, if Postecoglou’s latest words about Sarr are anything to go by, the 57-year-old very much plans on hanging on to the player.

When asked about the Senegal international is part of his plans, the Tottenham head coach told Football.London: “Absolutely. What a player.

“He never stops smiling, what else do you want from a footballer? He’s outstanding and he’s always happy. I’ve seen plenty of outstanding players who are fairly miserable.

“He’s a great talent. That part really excited me at the moment that we have a clutch with Destiny, Pappy, Skippy.

“We’ve got a talented and very exciting group there. There’s some real growth there for us apart from establishing a team that can make an impact straight away.”

Spurs Web Opinion

If Postecoglou rates Sarr highly, the Australian could perhaps decide that securing a replacement for Pierre-Emile Hojbejrg is not a necessity this summer. 

However, with Bentancur not expected to be fit for the start of the season, the Spurs head coach might want to lean on the side of caution rather than potentially leaving himself short of options in the middle of the park.