Pape Matar Sarr says £25m Tottenham player is incredibly important behind the scenes

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Ahead of Tottenham Hotspur’s huge tie against Aston Villa today, Pape Matar Sarr has now been lauding one of his teammates.

Sarr, who has already doubled the 11 Premier League appearances he made last season, is expected to start against Villa today.

Ange Postecoglou rarely deployed a midfield without the 21-year-old before he left for AFCON, but Rodrigo Bentancur’s return to fitness added stiff competition.

Right now it seems as if both Sarr and Bentancur are competing for the starting spot alongside Yves Bissouma, who’s been a stalwart for Postecoglou as well.

Bissouma delivered an excellent performance against Crystal Palace last time out, and gave reason to believe he can find his early season form once again.

And in truth, if Tottenham are to achieve a result against Villa today, they will need Bissouma to dominate in the middle, suppressing the likes of Douglas Luiz.

All that being said, Sarr has now actually been praising his Tottenham midfield colleague Bissouma, ahead of today’s big Villa clash.

Speaking in an interview with The Telegraph, Sarr said that Bissouma has been like a ‘big brother’, someone who helped when he wasn’t playing so much last season.

Pape Matar Sarr lauds Tottenham teammate Yves Bissouma ahead of crucial Villa tie

Sarr said that Bissouma regularly gives him advice and plays a really important role behind the scenes.

He explained: “It really was a big help. I was settling into a new life, not just a new club. 

“I benefited from the advice of a lot of team-mates, not just Yves, although he was a big help: Hugo Lloris, Pierre Hojbjerg, Ivan Perisic.

“It was a tough time because I wasn’t playing regularly. Yves is a guy I appreciate a lot. We’ve both come over from Africa and he gives me lots of advice.

“He behaves a lot like my big brother. He has such an important role within the team and the club. I always listen to what he’s got to say.”

Of course, as well as Sarr’s improvement this year, Bissouma also looks like a new player this season.

The £25m-midfielder initially struggled to impress at Tottenham, but Bissouma has thrived playing alongside Sarr, and the duo will need to show that form against Villa today.

Postecoglou knows that a win will be needed to give Spurs an element of control in the race for fourth, but that will be no easy task.

All that being said, Guglielmo Vicario was also talking up one of his Tottenham teammates recently.