Reported Everton and Aston Vila target Pape Matar Sarr is just ‘like Sadio Mane’ due to his ability to play in a range of different positions, Senegal coach Aliou Cisse told Wiw Sport.
Cisse is not saying that Sarr and Mane are two peas in a footballing pod.
The Metz youngster is a box-to-box midfield general rather than a jet-heeled winger, after all.
But, while Sarr will not be battling Mane for a place on the left-hand side of the Senegal attack any time soon, his tactical flexibility and supreme technical nous means that the former could quickly join the latter as one of the first names on Cisse’s team-sheet.
Everton’s answer to Sadio Mane?
“Pape Matar Sarr is a boy with a great future, he is steeped in talent,” said Cisse, the former Portsmouth midfielder.
“For me, he is like Sadio Mane. It’s true he has less experience than Mane and has proven less than him, but he is capable of playing in several systems.
“We rely heavily on him.”
Despite only making his Ligue 1 debut in November, Metz are already demanding an eye-watering £27 million fee for a youngster who has also been likened to former Juventus maestro Miralem Pjanic.
The Mail reports that four Premier League clubs – Everton, Aston Villa, Chelsea and Newcastle United – are all interested.
Steve Bruce’s Magpies have been scouring the market for a silky, slaloming midfield enforcer since that club-record bid for Boubakary Soumare fell short in January 2020, with Sarr undoubtedly fitting the bill.
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