Former Newcastle United and Chelsea striker Demba Ba has warned England that Pape Matar Sarr could pose a problem to them.
The Three Lions face Senegal in the last sixteen of the World Cup in Qatar with both sides looking to book their place in the next stage of the tournament. England finished top of Group B while Senegal came second in Group A behind the Netherlands.
Pape Matar Sarr joined Tottenham from Metz in a £14.6 million deal in the summer of 2021 before heading back to his former club on a season-long loan deal (Sky Sports).
He remained at Tottenham this summer and has yet to feature for Antonio Conte’s side, instead having to settle for a couple of outings for the club’s U23 side in the lead up to the World Cup to build his match fitness (transfermarkt).
With Senegal missing the likes of Bayern Munich’s Saido Mane due to injury, Ba believes that Sarr’s ability can cause the England defence a headache.
Ba told The Athletic: “Tottenham’s Pape Matar Sarr doesn’t have the experience of Sadio but he can bring something else, especially offensively. He can threaten them. Some of those kids now have to step in and do the job for us.”
(Photo by Tottenham Hotspur FC/Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images)
SpursWeb Opinion
Tottenham fans are yet to really see Sarr in action and an eye-catching display against England could see him in the shop window for another loan spell in the January transfer window.
The 20-year-old is too good of a talent to remain at the club and play U23 football for the remainder of the campaign and needs further first-team experience.
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