Journalist dismisses talk of any issues between Thomas Frank and Pape Matar Sarr at Tottenham Hotspur<\/p>\n
Several Tottenham players failed to impress in their 0-0 Champions League draw against AS Monaco on Wednesday, with Guglielmo Vicario\u2019s superb goalkeeping ensuring Spurs escaped with a point.<\/p>\n
After being second best for much of the game, Thomas Frank made several substitutions in the second half, including the introduction of Pape Matar Sarr, who helped stabilize the midfield. Despite his contribution, Vicario deserved most of the credit for securing the result.<\/p>\n
Sarr\u2019s limited playing time in recent weeks has puzzled many fans, especially after his strong start to the season. With injuries to creative players James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski, Frank has alternated between using Sarr and Lucas Bergvall in the No.10 role ahead of Joao Palhinha and Rodrigo Bentancur. The Senegal international has performed well in the advanced position when called upon.<\/p>\n
After featuring for 90 minutes in three of the first four league matches, Sarr has since been benched, with Bergvall preferred in recent games. Even after a dip in the Swede\u2019s form, Frank has continued to start him, prompting speculation of a possible rift between the manager and Sarr.<\/p>\n
According to TBR Football\u2019s chief correspondent Graeme Bailey, however, there has been no fallout between the two. Sarr\u2019s reduced involvement is simply due to Frank\u2019s ongoing efforts to determine his best starting lineup.<\/p>\n
\u201cTottenham insist there are no issues with Sarr; he remains an important member of the squad,\u201d Bailey told TBR Football. \u201cFrank is still evaluating his options, but Sarr is very much part of his plans. Palhinha and Bentancur are key players, yet Frank has emphasized the importance of the entire squad, and Sarr is included in that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sarr continues to develop under Frank\u2019s management. While not a natural creator, his energy, pressing, and tenacity make him valuable in midfield \u2014 qualities that have earned him the manager\u2019s admiration.<\/p>\n
Praised by pundit Jamie O\u2019Hara as a \u201cmassive hit\u201d signing, the 23-year-old is expected to receive more opportunities as the season unfolds. With his contract running until July 2030, he has time to cement his place in the team and reach his potential at Spurs.<\/p>\n
However, Sarr will miss several games in mid-December when he joins Senegal for the Africa Cup of Nations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Journalist dismisses talk of any issues between Thomas Frank and Pape Matar Sarr at Tottenham Hotspur Several Tottenham players failed to impress in their 0-0 Champions League draw against AS Monaco on Wednesday, with Guglielmo Vicario\u2019s superb goalkeeping ensuring Spurs escaped with a point. After being second best for much of the game, Thomas Frank …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":52792,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-52791","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Screenshot_20251024-110352.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52791","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=52791"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52791\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":52793,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52791\/revisions\/52793"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/52792"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=52791"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=52791"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=52791"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}