Tottenham Hotspur now turn their attention to the FA Cup as a tricky trip to Sheffield United for a place in the quarter-finals awaits, with Spurs again being led by assistant manager Cristian Stellini.
Antonio Conte‘s no.2 has steered the Lilywhites back into top-four contention in the Premier League with back-to-back victories over West Ham United and Chelsea and having beaten Portsmouth and Preston North End in this competition, they now head north to Bramall Lane for the fifth round.
It was only 12 months ago that Spurs were knocked out at this very stage, losing to another Championship outfit in Middlesbrough, so they will be looking to avoid another shock exit as the FA Cup could well be a viable piece of silverware to target.
Rotation will be required, however, given there are fixtures against AC Milan in the Champions League and back in the English top-flight against Wolverhampton Wanderers on the horizon.
Will Pape Matar Sarr play vs Sheffield United?
It means both Stellini and Conte will be tasked with naming a competitive side that allows them to still rest some of their biggest stars, so this could well be another opportunity for Pape Matar Sarr to stake a claim.
The impressive 20-year-old excelled in the first-leg against the Rossoneri at the San Siro but hasn’t been able to start a game since, even despite the long-term absences of Yves Bissouma and Rodrigo Bentancur through injury, with Oliver Skipp being Pierre-Emile Hobjerg’s preferred partner in the engine room.
Arnaut Danjuma, 26, is another in line for minutes, having rarely featured since his January loan move from LaLiga outfit Villarreal. Both he and Sarr ought to be among the starting XI when it’s named.
How good is Pape Matar Sarr?
On the aforementioned night, the Senegal international ran the show, having registered more touches than anyone else on the pitch (77) and his 92% passing accuracy was only usurped by one other player on the pitch, as per The Athletic.
That ability to run the tempo of the game should be elevated against lower-quality opposition such as the Blades, meaning he’ll be able to impose himself a lot more at both end of the pitch and given his box-to-box qualities, he could torment the second-tier side into squandering possession.
Even teammate and leading talisman Harry Kane has noted his quality, speaking after the defeat to Milan last month. He said (via football.london):
“He’s got fantastic quality. I think you saw today he was everywhere. He was breaking up play, tracking back, making tackles, shots, crosses. He’s a player who has all the ability and he’ll only get better from experiences like tonight, playing a really good team, a really good midfield.”
His last two starts for Spurs have drawn 7.7 (vs Pompey) and 7.4 (Milan) ratings by Sofascore, which suggests that he’s able to be called upon despite being in and out of the side over the last few months, with reporter Dom Smith noting him to be an “energetic” and “smart” ball-carrier.
Also hailed as a “huge talent” by journalist George Sessions, Sarr could play a crucial part in getting Tottenham into the next round of the FA Cup, so Stellini must unleash him – as well as Danjuma – from the off to give the side the best chance of victory up in Sheffield.
His potential place in the lineup could afford either Skipp or Hojbjerg some rest, whilst the Dutch loanee is a like-for-like replacement for Dejan Kulusevski, who has seemingly played every game since his return from injury.
AND in Spurs transfer news, Paratici could land Son heir in Spurs move for £60m gem who’s a “real box of tricks”…
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