Tottenham news: Opinion – Pape Matar Sarr the star

Some players are flashy. Some demand attention on and off the pitch. And some just quietly go about being brilliant.

Pape Matar Sarr is not the obvious choice when you think of star midfielders, but Tottenham fans will be familiar with his work from last season. We know what he is capable of, so it was a bit of a surprise to see him on the bench so often at the start of this campaign.

However, that makes it even more satisfying to witness him now delivering performances that demand attention and respect, and arguably a place in the starting line-up.

Crucial challenges, purposeful pressing, integral interceptions, tantalising transitional play – this is Sarr at his best, and this is what we were treated to against Aston Villa on Sunday.

In addition, every now and again Sarr will pop up with a goal like the one he scored against Manchester City in the cup last week just to remind you that, if you were not paying attention, you should have been. After all, there’s a Sarr man who’s magic on the ball…

I think Ange Postecoglou is still working out the best player combinations in midfield and, of course much of that will depend on who the opponent is, what injuries we are managing and what competition we are playing in.

Either way, Sarr is definitely making a strong case to be a star performer rather than an understudy. If he can gain some consistency with his good performances, he will be very hard to ignore.

Sarr’s goal celebration, an index finger to the temple, is perhaps a simple reminder to everyone that he is most definitely in the zone – and at only 22 years old, we should all be keeping our minds and eyes on a player who is only going to improve.

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