‘Fantastic’ player will surely start over Oliver Skipp for Tottenham vs Manchester United clash

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Tottenham Hotspur kicked off the Ange Postecoglou era with a 2-2 draw at Brentford on Sunday and there were some encouraging displays across the board.

The likes of Yves Bissouma, James Maddison and Destiny Udogie all caught the eye and seem well-suited to the Aussie boss’ demands.

There remain some huge question marks over some of Spurs’ players moving forward though, particularly out wide as both Heung-Min Son and Dejan Kulusevski struggled against the Bees.

And another player who didn’t manage to make an impact on the game was Oliver Skipp.

The 22-year-old bagged a brace against Barcelona in a pre-season friendly last week, which deservedly earned him a place in Postecoglou’s starting line-up on Sunday. 

But Skipp struggled while playing in a No8 role alongside James Maddison and in our view, Pape Matar Sarr should come into Postecgolou’s thinking ahead of Saturday’s clash against Manchester United. 

Sarr to replace Skipp for United clash

Both Maddison and Bissouma were standout performers against Brentford, which made it even more noticeable as Skipp struggled to get into the game.

The Spurs academy product never lacks in terms of his desire and willingness to put in the hard yards. Yet, he lacked the technical quality to help Tottenham carve out openings on Sunday. 

Sarr has impressed playing in a similar role during pre-season and it certainly wouldn’t be a surprise to see the 20-year-old replace Skipp this weekend. 

Of course, Giovani Lo Celso also starred for Spurs during their tour of Asia as he netted two times in three appearances.

But Postecoglou is yet to play the Argentine alongside Maddison, which seems to suggest he favours more of a box-to-box midfielder on the right-hand side of the midfield three.

While Sarr has only made 12 appearances in the Premier League for Spurs, the ‘fantastic’ midfielder is the more natural fit for the No8 role.

Skipp has proven he can provide an attacking threat, as his brace against Barcelona shows. But in our view, the Englishman is much more suited to playing as a deeper-lying midfielder.