Tottenham Hotspur have plateaued of late and it is a concern that Ange Postecoglou will be desperate to solve as he targets Champions League qualification this season.

Aston Villa's advantage in fourth place is slender, only two points, but last weekend's home defeat against Wolverhampton Wanderers has sparked worry in north London.

Inconsistency has long been an issue at Tottenham and while progress has been made under Postecoglou's leadership this term, there is a long way to go before the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City are matched at the summit of English football.

Still, Postecoglou wields a talented crop of players, with summer signings such as James Maddison and Micky van de Ven joining the likes of Cristian Romero and Heung-min Son.

The younger stars are also among the finest across Europe, with Pape Matar Sarr, 21 years old, looking like one of the finest rising talents in England.

The fee Spurs paid for Pape Sarr

Back in the summer of 2021, Tottenham were at a crossroads, with Jose Mourinho's project proving to be a bitter failure. Nuno Espirito Santo, perhaps slightly disappointingly, was appointed.

He, too, flattered to deceive down N17 and was relieved of his duties just 17 matches into his tenure, but one of his greatest successes in this snapshot period was the £15m signing of talented teenager Sarr from French side Metz.

Sarr, 18 at the time, was recognised for his multi-functionality but he wasn't ready for Premier League football and so returned to Metz on a season-long loan.

That much he was prepared for, and while he ebbed and flowed from form in Ligue 1, transfer guru Fabrizio Romano had been coloured impressed and revealed that he had been informed of the player's Paul Pogba-esque attributes.

Pape Sarr's market value in 2024

Now, Sarr is fast-rising as one of Tottenham's most valuable squad members, having already eclipsed that £15m fee paid for his services back in 2021.

Indeed, according to CIES Football Observatory's valuation model, the 18-cap Senegal international has been appraised at around £43m, though, in truth, Spurs chairman Daniel Levy would likely demand an even greater fee to grant his departure from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

However, just that £43m figure marks a 187% increase in value, and barring any unforeseen external factors, this will continue to burgeon over the coming years.

Last year, Sarr was an unknown, if promising commodity, but his market value has skyrocketed in such a short time after his exploits throughout the current campaign.

Pape Sarr's season by numbers

Sarr truly has the making of a first-rate midfield machine at the top of the game. Sarr is crisp. He is cultured; he is combative.

Above all, Sarr is calm. Equanimity sits at the centre of his skill set, allowing him to read the game expertly, perusing it as if a compelling novel, identifying chinks in the opposition's armour and marrying this trait with an intelligence that allows him to strike at the perfect moment.

Last season, Tottenham struggled to mesh the cogs together but the Senegalese talent was a bright spark, only used sporadically but showcasing his skills and notably impressing when forced into a starting berth at the San Siro during the Champions League last-16, winning five tackles and nine duels against AC Milan.

The framework had been settled. Perhaps there was some uncertainty about how well Sarr would take to life under Postecoglou's influence, but this was swiftly wiped away as he thrived when entrusted with a big role in the system.

Across his 21 Premier League outings this season, the 6 foot midfielder has posted three goals and two assists, completed 89% of his passes and averaged 0.9 key passes, 1.1 tackles, 4.9 ball recoveries and 3.2 successful duels per match, as per Sofascore.

He also ranks among the top 10% of midfielders across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for goals, the top 11% for assists, the top 20% for pass completion, the top 13% for progressive passes and the top 28% for both progressive carries and successful take-ons per 90, as per FBref.

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Player

Club

1.

Rodri

Manchester City

2.

Ross Barkley

Luton Town

3.

Douglas Luiz

Aston Villa

His selfsame style as Rodri, midfield linchpin at Manchester City, is possibly the most glowing endorsement that can be attributed to his potential, with energy, composure and all-action brilliance staples of Rodri's approach with the Premier League champions.

It would be a brave person to argue against Rodri's title as the best holding midfielder in the business, with his manager, Pep Guardiola, stating that "he's the best midfield player in the current world by far" – he's probably not wrong.

In the English top-flight this year, the 27-year-old has played 21 times, scoring six goals and placing three assists for his peers, also completing 93% of his passes, averaging 2.2 tackles and 7.1 ball recoveries per clash while succeeding with 78% of his dribbles and 61% of his duels.

The £220k-per-week monster also ranks among the top 7% of positional peers across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for goals, the top 11% for shot-creating actions, the top 1% for pass completion, passes attempted and progressive passes, the top 10% for progressive carries and the top 16% for successful take-ons per 90.

There's no such thing as infallible in football, but the Spaniard's patently been performing to a standard that will leave his signature hung in the halls of the Premier League's all-time greats.

Sarr is possibly not quite as innately solid in his defensive duties but he is sharpening a deadly attacking instinct to complement his core clutch of qualities that make him one of the most exciting midfielders across the continent, already noted for his "top-class" efforts in English football by talent scout Jacek Kulig.

The road ahead is long and tiring, but it is the path that Sarr must walk if he is to emulate Rodri and take the qualities that have already drawn comparisons and shape them into some unquestionably world-class.

Still, there are worse players to be compared to; it's a testament to Sarr's captivating ability and the possibilities that lie ahead.