Former Tottenham defender says people don’t understand how important 21-year-old is for Spurs now

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Stephen Kelly believes people don’t understand how important Pape Matar Sarr is for Tottenham Hotspur right now.

Speaking on the BBC’s Football Daily Podcast, the former Tottenham defender was full of praise for Pape Matar Sarr after his display against Newcastle United yesterday. 

Sarr returned to the starting XI for the first time since the 2-1 defeat at Wolves last month.

The 21-year-old picked up an injury while on international duty with Senegal but got a few minutes under his belt against West Ham on Thursday.

Ange Postecoglou opted to chuck Sarr straight back into the side against Newcastle, with Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg dropping to the bench.

The Senegalese midfielder was a key man at the start of the campaign as he starred alongside James Maddison and Yves Bissouma.

It’s a huge boost for Spurs to have him back in the side and he put in an all-action display as Postecoglou’s side thrashed Newcastle 4-1.

And Stephen Kelly believes people underestimate his importance to Postecoglou’s side.

Kelly says Sarr’s influence at Spurs is underestimated

Speaking on Football Daily, Kelly highlighted the impact Sarr has made under Postecoglou this term.

“And then Pape Sarr back, people underestimate his importance to the side, but him coming back into the team has been huge for them because he started off the season so well,” the former Tottenham man said.

Sarr provides Tottenham with real energy in the middle of the park and his defensive work often goes under the radar.

The midfielder covers the wide areas while Tottenham’s full-backs often drift into midfielder and further up the pitch.

But his quality on the ball is also an underrated aspect of his game as he helps Spurs play out from the back and through the lines.

At one point last month, Tottenham had lost all three of their first-choice midfielders in Bissouma, Sarr and Maddison.

Things are just starting to look up for Postecoglou as he now has both Bissouma and Sarr back in the starting XI.