Senegal begins a mini reconstruction. After attracting Yehvann Diouf in goal, as well as Malick Thiaw in defense, another target exists in the central hinge: Mamadou Sarr. This 19-year-old young man, born in France, is making his mark in Strasbourg. His father, a former Senegalese international, could serve as a lever to tip the scales on the Senegalese side.
With an aging Kalidou Koulibaly (33 years old), the Lair could soon be deprived of a pack leader. The fact of attracting Malick Thiaw (23 years old), a German international of Senegalese origin, is also part of this line of sight. But the hunt is far from over. The leaders could, in fact, turn to Mamadou Sarr.
This name may not mean anything to you, but the 19-year-old defender is currently enjoying his time in Strasbourg. This season, he has already made 10 appearances, including 9 in Ligue 1. After starting on the bench, his coach Liam Rosenior decided to throw him into the deep end on September 21 during the 5th day against Lille (3-3). A first start which will call for others since the kid started 8 of the last 10 days of the championship (playing all the matches on 7 occasions). The only two matches in which he did not play were the result of a muscle injury, depriving him of the duels against Lens (October 6, 2-2) and Monaco (November 9, 1-3 defeat).
The great deal for Strasbourg
In today's football, the less financially well-off clubs always try to sniff out the right moves. And on this matter, Strasbourg was blindsided. The Alsatians actually paid 10 million euros to snatch him from Lyon, his training club. However, Les Gones offered him his first professional contract in September 2022, when Mamadou Sarr was only 17 years old. He even played his first professional match on May 27, 2023, before being loaned to Molenbeek in January 2024.
Mamadou Sarr's profile is a rare commodity. Physically strong at only 19 years old (1m88, 77 kilos), the young man is uncompromising in duels, and enjoys a good quality of recovery and speed. Assets which would necessarily be useful to the Senegalese defense.
His father shone with Senegal
Mamadou Sarr also has a special link with Senegal. His father is none other than Pape Sarr, former Senegalese international. The latter, a hardworking but also creative midfielder, wore the colors of Senegal 27 times between 1999 and 2003. He thus participated in the great epic of 2002 punctuated by a CAN final and a World Cup quarter-final. .
Mamadou Sarr was born in Martigues. Which therefore gives him French nationality. Moreover, he is a French international among the hopefuls, having already played with the U17s. We will therefore have to act quickly to steal it from France and thus ensure that we have generational talent in defense.
Oumar Boubacar NDONGO
