Antonio Conte has praised Oliver Skipp and Pape Matar Sarr, admitting that both midfielders demonstrated against Crystal Palace that they can be counted on.
A lot has been made of the injuries that Tottenham have in their forward line but the club were also without two key midfielders for the trip to Selhurst Park, with Rodrigo Bentancur out with an injury and Yves Bissouma suspended for the clash.
(Photo by Tottenham Hotspur FC/Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images)
As a result, Conte handed Skipp just his second start of the season, with the England Under-21 international partnering Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg in the middle of the park.
The Spurs academy graduate put in a solid shift before being replaced by Sarr on 66 minutes, with the Senegalese youngster delivering a composed cameo to help the Lilywhites see off a comfortable win.
It was just the 20-year-old’s second appearance of the season so far and reports over recent weeks have indicated that the former Metz man is expected to be loaned out by Tottenham this month (Mucho Deporte).
Speaking after his side’s 4-0 win, Conte told Football.London: “Today Skipp and Sarr showed they are really reliable players for me and I’m really happy.”
The Spurs boss suggested that he was happy to get a ‘good answer’ from both the young midfielders, given the injuries that his side were dealing with.
He added: “Today I think that I have many things to be happy about, especially also for the young players. We are facing a difficult situation without important players, especially up front.
“Today also Bissouma was banned for one game. Rodrigo is injured, also in midfield, we were in a bit of trouble. Instead good answer from Skippy and a good answer from Pape Sarr.”
Spurs Web Opinion
Oliver Skipp looked prime to kick on to the next level a year ago but he was extremely unlucky with injuries over the course of 2022. Hopefully, the display on Wednesday will help the youngster regain his confidence and recapture the same form he showed during the first half of last season.
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