There appears to be no derailing the Ange Postecoglou train at Tottenham Hotspur, with the Lilywhites keeping themselves firmly in title contention at the top of the Premier League table following Monday's win over Fulham.
The north London outfit made it seven victories from their opening nine league games of the season courtesy of goals from Heung-min Son and James Maddison, albeit with the home side having also been reliant on some heroics from Guglielmo Vicario in the sticks, with the Italian shot-stopper making three crucial saves on the night.
Amid what was a positive, albeit far from perfect performance from the high-flying outfit, one potential concern was the withdrawal of Pape Matar Sarr on the hour mark, with it yet to be seen if the 21-year-old will be fit to feature against Crystal Palace on Friday evening.
What's the latest on Pape Matar Sarr?
With Spurs' next Premier League encounter just a matter of days away, the quick turnaround between the two fixtures may have Postecoglou sweating over the availability of young Sarr, with the Senegalese maestro having been forced off with what looked to be an injury setback at the time.
As the former Celtic boss subsequently revealed post-match, the promising machine had in fact been playing through illness hence his relatively early withdrawal, with Postecoglou stating:
"Pape hadn’t been well over the last 24 hours. But he was really keen to start tonight, we kind of knew probably 60 minutes would be his maximum. It was just fatigue in the end, short turnaround but the medical team seemed to be pretty confident that he’ll be fine."
While that assessment would suggest that Sarr will be in line to play against the Eagles this weekend, if Postecoglou and his staff do not want to take the risk with the potentially fatigued talent, then the 58-year-old may well need to look to his other midfield options to find a potential replacement.
Who could replace Pape Matar Sarr?
One major boost that Tottenham will receive ahead of the meeting with Roy Hodgson's men is the return of Yves Bissouma from his one-game suspension, with Pierre-Emile Hojberg having stepped in comfortably in that deep-lying midfield berth last night.
While the latter man was "effective" in that role – as per The Athletic's Charlie Eccleshare – it remains to be seen whether Postecoglou would consider a midfield pairing of Hojbjerg and Bissouma, with both men perhaps at their best as the pivot in front of the back four.
Instead, the Greek-Aussie could turn to Oliver Skipp to fill the shoes of Sarr if needed, albeit with the Englishman not exactly impressing last season amid the club's collective woes, with just one goal and no assists in all competitions.
In need of a player who can provide quality both in and out of possession, it could well be that Giovani Lo Celso emerges as a prime candidate ahead of Skipp, amid his return from injury.
The Argentine playmaker may be more renowned for his creative, attacking threat – memorably contributing 22 goal involvements in just 45 games during a prior stint at Real Betis – although the experienced ace could also take on Sarr's role as an all-action, relentless midfield machine.
With the latter man having been hailed by Postecoglou for the way he "disrupts the opposition" with his "great energy", Lo Celso can perhaps mirror that approach, having been described as an "engine" in the side in the past by ex-teammate and compatriot, Juan Foyth.
That was apparent during his time with Villarreal last term as the 27-year-old averaged 1.5 tackles per game from his 22 La Liga appearances, just slightly ahead of what Sarr has achieved from his nine league outings this time around – 1.4 tackles per game.
Although Lo Celso has been something of a forgotten man in recent years amid various stints out on loan, the £70k-per-week ace could represent something of a secret weapon in the coming weeks and months.
