Latest Pape Sarr announcement has Tottenham fans baffled as Thomas Frank exile continues

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Tottenham Hotspur fans haven’t seen Pape Sarr start a game all month, which makes the club’s latest social media post a little bit ironic, to say the least.

In the early days of Thomas Frank’s reign at Tottenham, it seemed Pape Sarr would be a key player. The Senegalese star shone in the Super Cup against PSG and then registered a goal and an assist in the first four games of the Premier League campaign.

However, since the end of September, for some reason, Frank has opted to leave the young midfielder out of his Spurs starting line-up.

The fans don’t know why, and have called for Sarr to return in a more prominent role. The desire for him to come back into the fold is growing all the time, especially after recent news that Sarr has been nominated for the African Player of the Year award.

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Pape Matar Sarr nominated for African award, so why isn’t he playing for Spurs?

On Thursday, the Tottenham Hotspur Twitter/X account shared a celebratory post about Pape Sarr due to the 23-year-old being nominated at this year’s CAF Awards. They wrote: “Our Sarrboy has been nominated for CAF Player of the Year! Well deserved, Pape.”

Naturally, supporters were baffled by the praise, given the current status of Sarr within the Spurs squad and how little game time he is getting.

One fan wrote, “Eating the bench every game for Bentancur,” while another added, “Great, now can someone actually get him on the pitch on game day?”

Other replies followed a similar theme, with comments saying, “But can’t seem to get a game under Frank when he’s been one of our best players this season. Someone make it make sense,” and “Surely a player receiving such plaudits would be factored into the manager’s thinking if he played for Spurs?”

We are told Sarr is considered a valuable squad player by Frank, but the player has been informed that rotation is going to be a regular occurrence in the squad.

The fans aren’t buying it, though. One suggested, “Clearly something has happened behind the scenes that we aren’t being told.” Another said: “I don’t think Frank thinks much of him.”

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Rodrigo Bentancur has to make way for Pape Sarr

After yet another frustrating display from Rodrigo Bentancur this week, it’s surely time for Thomas Frank to switch things up and bring Sarr back into the starting XI.

Bentancur played 60 minutes against Monaco, while Sarr had half an hour as a substitute to make an impact. While the latter couldn’t force a breakthrough for Spurs, Sarr did register a key pass, and he also lost possession three times compared to Bentancur’s seven (as per SofaScore).

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Poll: Should Thomas Frank start Bentancur or Sarr?

Incredibly, Bentancur didn’t make a single tackle in his hour of play, while Sarr registered two, and he also won four duels compared to Bentancur’s one. The statistics all point to one obvious decision for Frank, but will he make that call?

If Frank is serious about squad rotation, then surely the time has come for Bentancur to make way. The Uruguayan has now started the last four league games for Spurs, as well as the European tie in midweek, and he will definitely need a rest before he joins the growing injury list for the Lilywhites.