Fabrizio Romano hails Pape Sarr deal.. | Vital Football

Fabrizio Romano hails Pape Sarr deal..

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'The potential is huge': Fabrizio Romano says Spurs have signed an incredible 19-year-old

https://tbrfootball.com/the-potenti...-says-spurs-have-signed-an-incredible-talent/


Fabrizio Romano believes Pape Matar Sarr to Spurs was one of the top deals of the summer transfer window.

Tottenham beat a number of other top clubs to the talented 19-year-old midfielder’s signature.
Spurs, Arsenal and several other clubs were linked with Sarr over the summer.


The likes of Aston Villa, Everton and Chelsea were also apparently eyeing the Senegal international.

However, Spurs ended up winning the race for the player, signing him from Metz.
According to Goal.com, Tottenham paid an initial £13million which could increase to £25.5million with add-ons.
Sarr will remain on loan at Metz until the end of the season, so he’s very much one for the future.
Romano, writing on Sportskeeda, chose his top five transfers of the 2021 summer window.
He opted not to include Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi as “it is too easy to select them.”

Instead, Romano went for “really impressive transfer deals based on intelligence, strategy and skills required by the teams that have completed these negotiations.”

He listed the Sarr to Spurs deal alongside the likes of Romelu Lukaku to Chelsea and Achraf Hakimi to PSG.

“Many present-day stars moved in the summer, but this Metz midfielder promises to become a very important player in the future,” he wrote on Thursday.

“The potential is huge. Tottenham wanted to buy Pape Sarr immediately for €20million plus add-ons.
“Sarr will spend another year on loan in France to mature to the fullest.”
 
https://www.90min.com/posts/pape-matar-sarr-things-to-know

This begs the question - what position will he play?

Ligue 1

Pape Matar Sarr: Things to know about emerging Senegal star
Tom_Gott.jpg

By Tom Gott
Aug 20, 2021


There's so much young talent coming out of Ligue 1 these days, and Metz midfielder Pape Matar Sarr is generating more hype than most.

The 18-year-old has recently been linked with an expensive move to either Chelsea, Manchester City or Manchester United, although a new report suggests a transfer to Tottenham is now edging closer to completion.

Sarr's stock is only going to rise from this point, so it's time to get to know him a little better.

Who is Pape Matar Sarr?
1. He's ridiculously versatile

To say Sarr is handy in a number of positions would be an enormous understatement.

The teenager spent time as a central midfielder earlier in his career and has even played as an attacking midfielder, but slowly seems to be honing his craft as a defensive-minded player.

"I am evolving as a midfielder," Sarr told Metz's official website. "In Senegal, I played as an 8, but here, I am used as a 6. I'm comfortable in both positions."

2. Nobody really knows what his best position is
If you want an idea of the confusion surrounding Sarr's best position, the fact that he has been compared to both Liverpool winger Sadio Mane and former Chelsea midfield enforcer Michael Essien should sum up the confusion perfectly.

His father told L'Equipe that he sees Sarr as a 'real number 10', but Sarr's best performances have come as a defensive midfielder.

Comparisons to the box-to-box style of Essien appear to make some sense, but those links to Mane prove that those close to Sarr feel he is capable of a lot more.

3. He's more of a tempo-setter
While Sarr's father may want him in a more-advanced role, the consensus is that the youngster's future is deeper in midfield, where Metz director Olivier Perrin compares him to Miralem Pjanic.

"I immediately knew that Sarr was going to be a top player, with a very high level when it comes to reading and analysing the game," Perrin told Senego. "He is like Miralem Pjanic."

However, to add to the confusion about his best position, Perrin then went on to say: "He can play in a system with two 10s, he can be central or box-to-box. He can be a 10, a 6... it depends on the coach."

4. Sarr thrives on ball recoveries & long passes
Sarr has displayed almost N'Golo Kante-esque levels of determination to pressure opponents into giving up the ball, and once he gets control of it, Sarr always looks for a long ball.

Whether that's dipping over the centre-backs to spark a counter-attack or simply switching play to relieve some pressure, Sarr is perfectly happy spraying passes around when he gets the chance.

That's where the connections to Pjanic make sense. It's a quarterback-style way of playing football that is slowly starting to come back into fashion.

5. He was wanted by Man City at 9 years old
While Sarr may only be popping up on the global radar now, he has actually been followed by scouts for years now, with a former agent claiming Manchester City even offered around £80,000 to try and sign him when he was nine years old.

"When he was nine, a Belgian scout saw him juggle the ball and wanted to secure his services," Mamadou Saer Barry told wiwsport. "He wanted to bring him to Manchester City and put the tidy sum of 60m CFA francs (around £80,000) on the table."

Sarr chose to remain in Senegal until 2020, honing his craft at the famous Generation Foot academy.

6. Idrissa Gueye has very high hopes for him
After making rapid progress in youth football, Sarr was handed an international debut for Senegal in March 2021, after which PSG midfielder Idrissa Gueye did not hold back in his praise of the youngster.

"Pape Matar is a talented youngster who comes from local football," he said. "He's my type player, I admire him a lot. He has a lot of talent and he is the future of Senegal."

Sarr and Gueye lined up alongside each other at the base of Senegal's midfield and kept two clean sheets in their first two matches together.

7. He's got a good free kick on him
In Senegal, Sarr earned himself the nickname 'Carlos', a reference to the banging free kicks made famous by Brazilian superstar Roberto Carlos.

That penchant for a worldie was on show in 2019's Under-17 World Cup, where Sarr thundered home a glorious effort from range to fire Senegal to a stunning 4-1 victory over the United States.

The following year, at the Arab Cup, Sarr buried another stunner against Egypt to inspire a comeback victory in the semi-final.

8. He's still very raw
The general feeling around Sarr is that he has all the tools needed to become a future superstar, but only if he continues to work on eradicating the flaws from his game.

"Leave Sarr alone and let him grow," manager Frederic Antonetti told a press conference. "He still needs to improve in all areas - technique, tactics and consistency.

"Everyone knows he has a great talent, but like any 18-year-old, he still has room for improvement. He must not be disturbed."
 
My kind of signing.

Build a reputation as the club that will ruthlessly cast aside average older players and blood the squad with talented youngsters instead. Watch them grow enjoying every moment along the journey.

I'm hoping this kid is the next Dembele. Would have loved Spurs to have had Moussa as an 18 year old on loan at Metz knowing he'll be back to join our first team when he's ready. Nobody really knew what Moussa was at that age, let alone himself. He scored 40 goals in Holland trying to be a striker. Ended up as one of the best all-round midfielders in the world.

Who cares if we get a few of these younger buys wrong. It should always be part of the buying strategy.
 
My kind of signing.

Build a reputation as the club that will ruthlessly cast aside average older players and blood the squad with talented youngsters instead. Watch them grow enjoying every moment along the journey.

I'm hoping this kid is the next Dembele. Would have loved Spurs to have had Moussa as an 18 year old on loan at Metz knowing he'll be back to join our first team when he's ready. Nobody really knew what Moussa was at that age, let alone himself. He scored 40 goals in Holland trying to be a striker. Ended up as one of the best all-round midfielders in the world.

Who cares if we get a few of these younger buys wrong. It should always be part of the buying strategy.

Mutt, I agree! I just would like to see him in our colors...I think he could compete quite well for a starting role.
 
He looks to have so much going for him. A very talented boy and I am looking forward to having him on board. Reading the report above and looking at the clips I wonder if he will fit with us though as he doesn’t seem to have the short sideways or backward pass in his locker!
 
Loaning him back was the concession we made to get the deal done. A small price, even though it means another 12 months of Dele Alli frustration. We have at last secured a better player, with more strings to his bow.
 
Loaning him back was the concession we made to get the deal done. A small price, even though it means another 12 months of Dele Alli frustration. We have at last secured a better player, with more strings to his bow.

Actually the agreement to loan him was made after the transfer was agreed which makes it more bewildering.
 
Our CM desperately needs a player like him right now. Sarr is a player who looks to grab the game by the throat, which none of our current lot do. I have higher hopes for Skipp but I'm worried that he is not being pushed hard enough to control the game.
 
Our CM desperately needs a player like him right now. Sarr is a player who looks to grab the game by the throat, which none of our current lot do. I have higher hopes for Skipp but I'm worried that he is not being pushed hard enough to control the game.

No, our CM desperately needs the player we are building an 18 year old kid up to be. Does any of us really have an intimate knowledge on the lad and know whether he is ready for prime time? I don't, but my guess is that he's not ready. In fact, comments from his own manager seem to state that he needs to get his head down and keep working hard on his weaknesses.

Admittedly, Skipp would find it easier this season if he could just do the ball winning and pass it short to some silkier players who would take over. At the lower Championship level, that is more akin to what he was doing at Norwich. Then perhaps next season he could show us whether he can be a tempo setter and ball player from the middle of the park. It's a big transition from Championship to PL, and Skipp is doing just fine.
 
After a quick google, it looks like he's being played as a forward rather than a midfielder. I think that would suggest that he certainly isn't ready to come to the Premier League and play CM for us. Might as well stay where he is for the year to continue his development.
 
Actually the agreement to loan him was made after the transfer was agreed which makes it more bewildering.
Actually the agreement to loan him was made after the transfer was agreed which makes it more bewildering.

The loan back was a pre-condition of the sale to us and also his parents had personal reasons for wanting it delayed (no I don't know what they were, only that it was an integral part of the deal), it was speculated to me that they wanted to find schools for his siblings here BEFORE leaving France.

So not so bewildering really, issues like this with youngsters are commonplace when buying from abroad.
 
The loan back was a pre-condition of the sale to us and also his parents had personal reasons for wanting it delayed (no I don't know what they were, only that it was an integral part of the deal), it was speculated to me that they wanted to find schools for his siblings here BEFORE leaving France.

So not so bewildering really, issues like this with youngsters are commonplace when buying from abroad.

Strange as the transfer was announced and several sources stated they were now discussing the loan deal.

Very confusing 😕
 
Strange as the transfer was announced and several sources stated they were now discussing the loan deal.

Very confusing 😕

I find that unlikely, but in some deals, believe me when I say that ever since I've been kept briefed by the agency I own part of - I've heard things and conditions you just wouldn't believe - it really is a totally different world from normal standard commercial practices! (but it is also highly profitable :wahey: LOL!)