09 March 2024 , 22:30
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Pape Matar Sarr wants to prove he belongs at the highest level after fulfilling his Premier League dream with Tottenham.
And once he's finished cracking opposition code via lung-busting recovery runs and shrewd interceptions, Ange Postecoglou's supremely-talented midfield engineer intends to utilise his intelligence by pursuing a career in computer science.
"Computer science is what I want to do after my career," says Sarr. "I’ve done bits of research here and there in regards to the route I want to go down. I’ve not started with any formal studies because I don’t really have too much time. Within the next year or two I am going to start lessons. It’s not games I’m interested in, it’s the electronic stuff behind a computer."
Sarr has exceptional physical qualities but his ability to read the game - both defensively and offensively - sees him form part of the fundamental software that enables Spurs to tick.
He adds: "We’re a family. Maybe my game does resemble the way a computer works a bit. I try to bring my football intelligence to the party, my view of the game."
The 21-year-old box-to-box maestro, signed by Fabio Paratici from Metz for £14.6million plus add-ons in August 2021, is using Senegalese hero Sadio Mane and Yaya Toure as sources of inspiration - despite being nicknamed Roberto Carlos.
The 21-year-old box-to-box maestro explained: "It was my uncle, the older brother of my dad, who gave me the nickname Roberto Carlos. I had a really powerful shot on me. I’ve never lost it, but I just don’t find myself that close to the goal these days. I’m too far out to be trying it."
Sarr has three top-flight goals to his name this season, the best of which was an 18-yard Carlos-esque pile-driver against Bournemouth on New Year's Eve. Now he wants to add more to his game after picking the brains of international team-mate and idol Mane, who like Sarr, was a product of Dakar's world-renowned Generation Foot academy before arriving in Europe with Metz in France.
He added on the former Premier League and Champions League-winning Liverpool forward: "It was always my dream to meet Sadio Mane because, frankly, he’s a hero to all of Africa, not just the academy. Now I’m his team-mate in the national team. You try to get as much as you can out of his advice. He’s a role model for me and many others. I wish him all the best as he heads towards the end of his career."
Pape Matar Sarr scored his first goal of the season against Manchester United back in August (Getty Images)
Sarr initially struggled for minutes under former boss Antonio Conte but an eye-catching and career-defining performance against AC Milan, a club that coincidentally showed loan interest in 2022, at San Siro in the Champions League last season changed the picture.
Sarr said of his clutch cameo: "They’re moments I’ll remember forever. Playing in big games like that is a dream come true, what you aim for as a youngster. Irrespective of the results, which didn’t go our way, they were still fantastic experiences."
Now he's an integral part of Postecoglou's top-four-chasing squad but in his view, that's no less than his efforts deserve as the energetic starlet continued: "I’d like to think that's partly down to all the hard work I did in that first year.
"Although I wasn’t playing, I didn’t let my head drop or my desire and belief to decrease. I will never stop believing in my ability and myself. Now I’m playing, it’s great. It feels like a return on that hard work.
"But I’m honest enough with myself to realise that nothing has been achieved yet. I’ve still got a long way to go and a lot to learn. Maybe the easy part is getting to the top. The hard bit is actually maintaining that level and staying there."
Pape Matar Sarr starred against AC Milan in the Champions League last season (Getty Images)
For Sarr, there is no greater role model than former Spurs academy coach Yaya Toure, who won three Premier League titles, three League Cups and one FA Cup in eight memorable seasons with Manchester City.
He added on the Ivorian: "Toure was a top player, one of the best. I’m not saying I’m Yaya Toure, far from it but there are facets of his game that I do try to copy and take into my own. He’s a real role model for every young player in Africa and one of the people responsible for making us love the game so much."
Sarr, who is universally popular at Spurs due to persistent smile and warm, friendly nature, refuses to revel in his stardom without referencing his humble beginnings in Senegal when life was admittedly, incredibly tough.
He concluded: "I’m a smiley person, happy-go-lucky. When I was at my academy in Senegal, we were a bunch of young guys, basically locked away. The way of life we had was great to be honest, we didn’t have too much access to mobile phones.
"We had lots of laughs together, we had to entertain ourselves, joking around. I try to keep that going, because I think to be smiling and full of joy in everyday life is important."
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