PAPE MATAR SARR embraces the Star Boy nickname he goes by at Tottenham’s training ground due to his astronomical talent.
But the Senegalese international believes there are loads of kids ready to shine in Ange Postecoglou’s rejuvenated squad.
Sarr is only 21 but has become a senior head in Postecoglou’s midfield on account of the club’s strikingly young signings this summer.
Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall, both 18, arrived from Leeds and Swedish side Djurgarden respectively for a combined total of £38.5million.
Two more teenagers were bought for the wide positions in Wilson Odobert, 19, and Yang Min-Hyeok, 18 — though the South Korean prodigy will not arrive until January.
Then there is 17-year-old whizkid winger Mikey Moore, who many rate the most exciting player to come through Spurs’ academy in a decade.
Add in Destiny Udogie, 21, and two 23-year-olds in Brennan Johnson Micky van de Ven — plus Sarr — and Postecoglou looks to be putting together a team with scary potential.
On his Star Boy moniker, Sarr said: “I take all that positively. It’s a source of pleasure because it’s not easy to be star boy in a group like we’ve got.
“It can’t be for no reason that they call me that and I work every day to make sure I deserve that and that I won’t let them down.
“But to be honest, there are loads of star boys in our team.
“You can see with the group we’ve got this year, we’ve got a lot of really, really great players. I’ll just keep working hard to make sure I merit it.”
Postecoglou, whose side take on Everton at home today, is into his second season as Spurs boss.
That normally means party time if his record at previous clubs is anything to go by — he won titles in his second campaign at all three teams he managed beyond a first season.
Repeating those successes in Australia with Brisbane Roar, in Japan with Yokohama F Marinos and in Scotland at Celtic would be some feat.
That is given the sky-high level of competition in the Premier League and it’s been 63 YEARS and counting since Spurs won the top flight.
Even more so when you consider the relative inexperience the Aussie has in his young squad.
Pundit Alan Hansen famously said “you can’t win anything with kids”. But Sarr buys into another old adage: If you’re good enough, you’re old enough.
Asked if Tottenham can win the title given Postecoglou’s second-season knack, the former Metz midfielder laughed and replied: “The way I see it, there are no 17-year-olds, no 20-year-olds. When I look at football, all footballers are the same.
“It’s not just certain teams that can win, it’s the team that has the talent, who works hard, that has the skill.
“If you have that, regardless of whether you have young players or old players, that’s going to be the team that wins.
“There are a lot of young players at Tottenham and I guess I’m a little bit older than them so I try to help in my own way, I try to impart the experience that I’ve got.”
Sarr has been bowled over by Bergvall since the blond Swede with the movie-star looks pitched up in N17.
Tottenham fought off Barcelona to complete an £8.5m move for Bergvall on deadline day in February, though the teenager did not arrive in North London until July.
The one-cap Sweden international caught the eye in pre-season and then impressed off the bench in Monday’s 1-1 draw at Leicester.
Asked which of Spurs’ new faces has impressed him most, Sarr said: “Lucas. I really love his style. He’s never under pressure when he’s on the ball. Technically, he’s fantastic.
“He’s bound to be one of the world’s top players. He’s got all the assets. With work, he’ll get to the very top.”
Sarr admits Spurs were taught a valuable lesson at the King Power as Jamie Vardy’s leveller made them pay for wasting a number of chances.
But the youngster is confident the team will keep on carving out chances in an attacking system under Postecoglou he prefers compared to that of former boss Antonio Conte.
Sarr added: “In Conte’s system, we weren’t playing so much with the ball in midfield.
“I love the system we play now because it means I get to attack, I get to defend. This is what I want to do.
“We need to be more decisive in front of goal. But I’m sure we can put that right and have a great season.”