Tottenham Hotspur have high hopes for new signing Pape Matar Sarr – and he almost became a Manchester City player many years ago.
Much of the focus is on the likes of Emerson Royal and Cristian Romero in terms of signings at Tottenham, but Fabio Paratici has had a real look at the future too.
Paratici struck a deal for Metz midfielder Sarr, paying around £14.5million which could rise even higher.
In order to complete the deal, Tottenham also agreed to sent Sarr back to Metz on loan for the season to continue his development.
The Daily Mail now have more information on Sarr, who is one of Europe’s top young talents at the age of just 18.
They claim that Manchester City offered around £80,000 to sign Sarr at the age of just nine, having kept tabs on him as a youngster.
Sarr came up through the Generation Foot academy in Senegal, and decided to reject the move to City in favour of staying in his home country.
That offer from City came in around 2011 or 2012, and Sarr chose to stay in Senegal before eventually heading to Metz.
Sarr had no doubt seen other Senegalese players like Sadio Mane, Ismaila Sarr and Kalidou Koulibaly shine with Metz, and moving to another French-speaking country no doubt made sense for him.
From £80,000 as a kid to £14.5million as a teenager, Sarr continues to develop rapidly – and Tottenham will be hoping to show City what they’re missing next season and beyond.
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