‘They stood tall… it was a big positive for Conte’: Rookie Spurs midfield duo Sarr and Skipp hailed by Jenas for displays in 1-0 defeat at AC Milan, as Rio says they ‘come out with huge credit’
- Jermaine Jenas praised Pape Matar Sarr and Oliver Skipp for their performances
- The young midfielders impressed during Tottenham’s defeat against AC Milan
- Rio Ferdinand feels Sarr and Skipp’s displays bode well for their future chances
Jermaine Jenas praised Pape Matar Sarr and Oliver Skipp for rising to the occasion in their first Champions League starts for Tottenham.
Although Antonio Conte’s side lost 1-0 away to AC Milan in the first leg of their last-16 tie, the Italian will have been pleased with the way in which the young midfielders coped in an intimidating atmosphere.
Tottenham were without Rodrigo Bentancur, who is set to miss the rest of the season due to injury, and Yves Bissouma is also out while Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg was unavaiable to due to suspension.
Conte had little alternative but to field Sarr, 20 and Skipp 22, but both players performed well on the big stage.
Speaking on BT Sport, Jenas said of Sarr and Skipp: ‘Eyeballs were on them and they’d have known that. It’s not easy to avoid words in this era. In fairness to them both they stood tall. They were the positives that came out of tonight in my opinion. I thought Sarr in particular, his passing, how aggressive he was.
Jermaine Jenas praised Pape Matar Sarr for his performance as Tottenham lost to AC Milan
Jenas felt that another young midfielder, Oliver Skipp, acquitted himself well at the San Siro
Speaking on BT Sport, Jenas suggested that Sarr and Skipp can both be relied upon
Jenas commented upon the skillsets of both players as they are effective defensively and in a creative sense.
He said: ‘Skipp being his first Champions League experience as well and such a huge stage in the knockout phase. It was a big positive for Conte to take into those games and go I can rely on these two to do a job for me in midfield. It wasn’t an area of the pitch I looked at today and was like ‘we need to improve there.’
‘At the top end of the pitch and defensively is where I was thinking it. Just things like big tackles, getting back, breaking up interceptions. I mentioned the passing ability of them both.’
Rio Ferdinand also spoke in glowing terms about Sarr and Skipp, saying that they did well coming into a team that has lacked consistency.
Rio Ferdinand also spoke highly of Sarr and Skipp for coming into an inconsistent team
Ferdinand feels that Sarr and Skipp have given themselves the foundations to go on and have a successful career at Tottenham.
Ferdinand said: ‘You want to come in as a young player into a settled team that have got a fair bit of confidence and the team are playing a way you could just slot into. At the moment they’re a team with a lot of holes. They will have heard the noise from the fans for the last few weeks, borderline even months.
‘To come into that is very difficult. Add to that the San Siro, and the Champions League, so these two have to come out of this with huge credit. This is a huge confidence builder for two young players to make their careers at this club.’
Although Hojbjerg will be back available, it seems likely that Sarr and Skipp will get plenty more minutes in the remainder of the season with Tottenham having a lack of midfield options.
It will be intriguing to see whether both players can perform with consistency as they look to show what they are capable of.
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