The comparison with Blaise Matuidi? A little hasty in terms of status, mileage, trophies, and that innate leadership the Frenchman consistently brought to every dressing room he inhabited. But simultaneously intriguing — and perhaps even accurate, setting aside the fact that the former PSG man was left-footed. That, at any rate, is the trajectory to which Pape Matar Sarr should aspire: offering the bianconeri physicality, legs, football intelligence, and a healthy dose of pragmatism. At the cost of occasionally appearing awkward or ungainly in technical execution. Juventus were missing a profile of exactly this type. A box-to-box mezzala capable of immersing himself completely in both phases of play.
From Timid Reserve to Certain Starter — the Arc of the Conversion
It is no secret that Carnevali and Massara spent the entire summer trying to sign Kessié, and that when the deal collapsed — intercepted by Giuntoli’s Atalanta at the last moment — Spalletti expressed genuine scepticism about the Senegalese midfielder who appeared, on paper, to be nothing more than a modest consolation prize. The manager had doubts. Those doubts were then addressed not through argument or persuasion but through the oldest method available: training footage, analytical data, and the patient pressure of the directors themselves.
What converted Spalletti fully was what he saw at close range after Sarr shook off his early muscular residue: a player who, as he explained ahead of the Sassuolo match, “creates curiosity because he knows how to behave well in any situation. He is a complete player — he has this ease of movement and you find him everywhere precisely and promptly. When you think the block cannot get there, he arrives. He has this deep running and endurance. In this going around to explore he brings quality because he knows the tackle, he knows technical quality and finishing. We are convinced we have a strong player available and he will show it from tomorrow if needed.”
The NEC Goal and the Atalanta Evidence
The Europa League debut against NEC — 69 touches, second in the squad, and a performance that prompted Spalletti’s “elastic and soft, thoroughbred” description — was the first public confirmation. But it was the Atalanta match that delivered the definitive verdict: with Sarr entering in the second half to replace Alajbegovic, the game transformed. The midfield dominance that defined Juventus’s best passage of the match — the period in which Atalanta could not find a foothold and the bianconeri controlled territory and tempo simultaneously — coincided directly with his presence. He linked play and repeatedly won possession through the resolute physicality of his duels. There is still much to refine on the technical side. But the impression that crystallised is clear: Spalletti has concluded that Sarr will be the designated starter alongside Douglas Luiz for the foreseeable future.
What This Means for Koopmeiners
The implication for the Dutch midfielder is the article’s most pointed passage. Despite scoring from an unusual central defensive position against Serbia during the international break — after three consecutive appearances from the bench — Koopmeiners finds himself facing a landscape that has shifted further against him. When Sarr started ahead of him in the Atalanta match, the hierarchy was written visibly on the pitch. When Sarr enters and the game changes, the argument for Koopmeiners as a first-choice inclusion becomes harder to make than it has ever been at Juventus. The three-month window to save his place has not opened on favorable ground.
