Alasdair Gold names one player Conte has ‘taken a real shine’ to at Spurs in recent weeks

Football.London’s Alasdair Gold has revealed that Antonio Conte has been impressed by Pape Matar Sarr since the midfielder returned to training after the World Cup.

Sarr did not feature for a single minute in the first part of the 2022-23 campaign, with his first competitive minutes this season (barring his appearances for the Under-21s) coming in the World Cup for Senegal.

However, the 20-year-old has come on as a late substitute in Tottenham’s last two Premier League clashes against Aston Villa and Crystal Palace, particularly impressing in his 25-minute cameo at Selhurst Park.

Conte singled out the former Metz man for praise in his post-match press conference on Wednesday, stating that the youngster proved to him that he is a ‘reliable player’ (Football.London).

Gold has now revealed that Sarr actually returned earlier than he was expected to from the World Cup to get the most out of working with Conte and his coaching staff during the mini pre-season.

The journalist adds that the Tottenham head coach has taken a ‘real shine’ to the midfielder after working with him over recent weeks.

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Sarr is likely one of the players Conte was referring to when he said in his post-match press conference on Wednesday that he does not want to loan out the young players at the club as they can prove valuable over the coming months.

While it would be ideal for the Senegal international’s development to get regular minutes under his belt, he will also be learning a lot by working with Conte and training with world-class players at Spurs.

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