Tottenham Hotspur are performing well this season and there are numerous signs of promise that Ange Postecoglou is the right man to lead the club away from the malaise of recent campaigns.
Combining with chairman Daniel Levy to blend pitch performance with sharp and astute recruitment, Tottenham are fighting to reclaim a spot at the forefront of the Premier League, with one eye on European conquests to come too.
While impactful signings such as James Maddison and Micky van de Ven have captivated and revived a sombre-feeling fanbase since the Australian manager's arrival, he has been aided by some former groundwork invested in the procurement of young talent.
Destiny Udogie, for example, was signed from Udinese for £15m back in 2022 but spent the subsequent campaign back on loan with the Serie A side, while Pape Matar Sarr was nurtured with a bit-part role last season before being unleashed with regularity at present.
Both are remarkable players but the latter, Sarr, might just bloom into one of Europe's foremost midfielders.
Pape Sarr's Spurs performance in 2023/24
Tottenham signed Sarr from French Ligue 1 club Metz in a £15m package back in 2021 before being handed back to his former club for the campaign, much like with Udogie.
An injury crisis gave Lilywhites supporters a tantalising glimpse of the quality at the now-21-year-old Sarr's disposal last season after he started against AC Milan in the Champions League, excelling in the first leg at the San Siro and leading Harry Kane to gush over his potential
The Three Lions skipper said: "He's got fantastic quality. I think you saw today he was everywhere. He was breaking up play, tracking back, making tackles, shots, crosses. He's a player who has all the ability and he'll only get better from experiences like tonight, playing a really good team, a really good midfield."
Minutes played
90'
Touches
77
Accurate passes
49/59 (83%)
Key passes
1
Long balls
5/6
Dribble attempts
1/2
Tackles
5
Interceptions
1
Duels won
9/16
He did, however, only earn three starting berths in the Premier League but has taken huge strides in his development since Postecoglou's arrival, having established himself as a key cog in the centre of the park, with his turbo-powered energy and multi-skilled midfield approach blending nicely with that of the tough-tackling Yves Bissouma.
Now, lauded as "one of these midfielders who really causes issues for opponents" by his Spurs boss, Sarr has demonstrated such prowess with three goals and three assists apiece across 20 Premier League starts this term, completing 88% of his passes and averaging 1.1 tackles, 4.5 ball recoveries per game, as per Sofascore.
Moreover, he ranks among the top 14% of midfielders across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for goals, the top 6% for assists and the top 18% for progressive passes per 90, as per FBref, emphasising his adept offensive ability and ubiquity in his craft, also lingering back to chug balls forward with electric constancy.
To put it succinctly: Sarr is a real talent and will rise to the very forefront of the European game if he continues on his current course. He's proof of an exciting change of tack after years of mediocrity, with the Spurs academy absolutely booming at present.
Spurs' most exciting academy stars
Sarr is a prodigious young player but he's not a product of Tottenham's underbelly, though thankfully there is a wealth of promise positively begging to burst through onto the senior pitch, with no one currently playing for the development squad more exciting than Mikey Moore.
The versatile forward, aged only 16, has been in scintillating form this season and has scored 12 goals and supplied seven assists from only ten games in the U18 Premier League. He's the real deal.
"Grafts and grafts" – Young Tottenham star getting rave reviews in training
He’s been putting in extra hours.
ByEmilio GalantiniMar 26, 2024
He's not the only young gun on the block, however, with Premier League icon Yaya Toure naming Callum Olusesi alongside Moore as one of the biggest talents down N17.
Toure was an absolute powerhouse for Manchester City and had been earning a living as a youth coach at Tottenham since his retirement, thus spending much time overseeing some of the development of stars of Olusesi's age bracket.
The Ivorian said: "Yeah, definitely. Mikey Moore and Callum Olusesi are top grade U16s, they are really good and most of the time they were playing with the 18s."
Given that Manchester United had a vested interest in poaching Olusesi from Lilywhite clutches before he penned a long-term contract in north London, it's patently clear that Postecoglou might have a future star on his hands.
Callum Olusesi's season in numbers
The 17-year-old Olusesi has recently penned his first professional contract with Tottenham having made a name for himself as a regular for the club's U18s in 2022/23 while still a schoolboy.
This term, the robust midfielder has racked up eight goals and four assists across the U18 Premier League and FA Youth Cup despite featuring from the centre of the pitch, and given his elegance and technical quality, it might just be that Postecoglou already has a Sarr regen on his hands.
The England U17 international's free-scoring success has placed him in good stead for a prominent career down the line, though he will likely need to continue his work at the current level heading into the 2023/24 campaign before making a deeper mark next term, hoping to crane Postecoglou's neck as he stands out among a host of top teenage talent.
An innate eye for goal is definitely not a bad way to start swivelling heads, and it's important to remember that Olusesi is still younger than Sarr was when the Senegal international first put pen to paper with Tottenham.
He's one to keep an eye on. If he keeps working as hard as he is at present, it might be a name on many more lips before the close of the 2024/25 campaign.