The 24yo left Tottenham to join Juventus on a season-long loan in August.
During the summer, Tottenham Hotspur performed a comprehensive squad rebuild under head coach Roberto De Zerbi. Spurs brought 10 new players through the door in the summer for a combined fee of close to £400m, with even more departing.
£185m was spent on central midfielders Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes, after the club released Yves Bissouma and decided against making Joao Palhinha’s loan permanent at the end of last season. Tonali and Fernandes’ arrivals put the futures of certain players in doubt. Lucas Bergvall was seeking a new adventure in the summer, only for De Zerbi to convince him to stay at the club in the end.
Pape Matar Sarr had made up his mind to leave Spurs. The midfielder slipped down the pecking order under De Zerbi this summer and decided to end his five-year spell in N17. He joined Juventus on a season-long loan, with the Italian club holding an option to buy that will become mandatory if certain conditions are met.
Former Juventus star backs Pape Matar Sarr to shine in Turin
Pape Matar Sarr wasn’t short of suitors in the summer. Galatasaray held concrete interest in the Senegalese international, but eventually it was Juventus who won the race for his signature.
The 24-year-old was sidelined for the start of the season with a muscle injury. Sarr recently recovered from it and made his debut for Juventus against Sassuolo in Serie A, coming on coming off the bench to replace Teun Koopmeiners. The midfielder played 20 minutes, as Juventus lost 3-2 to Sassuolo.
Now, former Juventus man Mohamed Sissoko believes Sarr can establish himself as a regular in Luciano Spalletti’s starting XI and surprise many in Serie A football.
“Playing for Juventus isn’t easy; this shirt always carries a lot of weight, even in difficult times like these,” Mohamed Sissoko told Italian outlet Tutto Juve.
“I’m familiar with his box-to-box ability; he’s an important player for Senegal and was one at Tottenham. Now he’s coming into a completely different style of football and a completely different environment, so it’ll be up to him to prove to people that he’s up to the standard of this club.
“He can earn himself a place in the starting line-up. And you’ll see, he’ll surprise you.”
Sarr needs time to settle in Serie A
Sarr recently made his Serie A bow after recovering from a muscle problem. Spalletti handed the Tottenham loanee a start in Juve’s Europa League game against NEC on Thursday evening. He played the full 90 minutes and helped his side register a dominating 5-0 win over NEC.
The Senegalese talent is getting used to the culture, life and demands of Italian football. Once he gets fully up to speed, Sarr will become a key player for Spalletti’s side and demonstrate his qualities regularly in Serie A.