The Tottenham midfield pecking order could very well be about to change after Pape Matar Sarr's recent rise. Heading back to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the summer after spending last campaign on loan with former club Metz, the Senegal international very much had a watching brief in the opening months of the season with no playing time coming his way.
In fact, the first real chance Tottenham fans got to take a good look at the player was in Senegal's World Cup Round of 16 clash against England as he was introduced for the second 45 minutes. Impressing in that game and doing likewise at Hotspur Way following his return from Qatar, Antonio Conte has rewarded the player with pitch time.
Catching in the eye in the recent friendly against Nice, Sarr looked right at home last Sunday when he was introduced for the final 10 minutes against Aston Villa and then three days later away at Crystal Palace.
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Perhaps a no-brainer for Conte to hand the 20-year-old his first Tottenham start against League One side Portsmouth in the FA Cup third round so he could take a closer look at him over an extended period of time, the head coach will have been left very impressed by Fabio Paratici's £14.6million addition.
Aside from two wayward passes in the first half which went out of play when he went to spread the ball to the left, Sarr was excellent in the middle of the park and demonstrated why he is rated so highly at the club. Calm in possession, controlling the tempo and always looking to play forward, a standout feature of his game that many will have noticed is how he effortlessly carries the ball forward.
Strong in the tackle too, which one of his opponents will attest too following a crunching tackle in the second half, you can see why he has drawn comparisons with Arsenal and France great Patrick Vieira. His numbers from the game were very pleasing on the eye.
Registering a 90 per cent pass accuracy from his 94 passes, 15 of which were into the final third, he also won possession 11 times, made five tackles, three interceptions and created one chance. Just needing that opportunity to show everyone what he can do, Sarr has excelled in his recent appearances for Tottenham and he may possibly be set to overtake Oliver Skipp in the midfield standings on current form.
The England Under-21 international has endured some rotten luck on the injury front over the past 12 months and looks like a player in desperate need of a regular run of games. Improving in the second half at Crystal Palace after a shaky start, the ex-Norwich City loanee was initially named on the bench to face Portsmouth before he was brought into the starting XI only 10 minutes before kick-off after Yves Bissouma sustained a knock in the warm-up.
Very little time to get ready and get in the zone, Skipp, who had a steady performance overall, put himself about as ever and worked hard as he tried to get used to a more attacking role with Sarr slightly deeper in a very young Tottenham midfield. He had a glorious chance to double their advantage in the second half but unfortunately blazed over the bar after Bryan Gil's touch had fallen kindly to him.
Needing regular football to get back to his previous levels after impressing for Nuno Espirito Santo and then in the first two months of Conte's Tottenham tenure, it looks like he is unfortunately going to have to contend with a bit-part role because of the players ahead of him in the pecking order. Sarr is certainly pushing him all the way for that fourth spot, and he may now have already overtaken him in Conte's mind going on the past few weeks.
That will become a lot clearer over the coming months as minutes are likely to come Sarr's way if he continues to go from strength to strength in north London. Making such a positive start to 2023, Tottenham fans cannot wait to see more of the Senegal ace over the course of the year.
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