Alasdair Gold has revealed in his latest column for Football.London that Ange Postecgolou will take a close look at Pape Matar Sarr and Alfie Devine during pre-season before making a decision on whether they could have first-team roles.
There have been plenty of think pieces over the past couple of weeks on what kind of midfield Spurs will have heading into Postecoglou’s first season in charge and whether the likes of Tanguy Ndombele, Giovani Lo Celso and Harry Winks could have a future at the club.
Gold has now stated that one player the new Tottenham head coach is keen to assess is Sarr, with the Australian wanting to test how effective the Senegal international can be in the number eight role.
Alfie Devine may get Spurs chance during pre-season
The journalist adds that Postecolgou could also decide to take Alfie Devine on the club’s pre-season tour to Asia and Australia before making a call on whether the 18-year-old can have a squad role next season or whether he would be better off going out on loan.
However, Gold also points out that the lack of European football for Tottenham next season means that squad players might not get a lot of game time.
Spurs Web Opinion
Unless Postecoglou decides that Devine would have a prominent squad role, it would be in the club’s best interest to loan him out next season so that he can continue his development.
I would hate to see a repeat of what Conte did with Gil and Sarr, with the Italian choosing to keep the pair at the club as emergency backups, without any intention of offering them minutes. The same could be said for the likes of Harvey White, who arguably would be better off leaving on a permanent deal this summer.