Report: Sarr, Skipp will not be loaned before window closes

Tottenham Hotspur have several outgoing irons in the fire on deadline day, but according to Dan Kilpatrick in the Evening Standard, those irons do not include Pape Matar Sarr or Oliver Skipp.

There was some thought that one (or both) of them could be loaned out for the second half of the season — Skipp in order to build up match fitness and Sarr to gain first team experience in a season where he hasn’t played much. But while there were reports Skipp was willing to leave, Antonio Conte is seemingly not willing to let them go.

Kilpatrick notes that Conte is impressed with Sarr, especially since the World Cup, and wants to keep him as part of the squad going forward. Skipp is ostensibly Tottenham’s fifth choice central midfielder, but Conte would like to keep him around to bolster the squad as he’s a homegrown player

If I’m honest, I think I’d prefer to send Skipp out to regain match fitness — the “homegrown quota” isn’t really a quota and instead just a cap of 17 foreign players. Skipp is unlikely to see significant time this spring and has looked pretty rusty in his short cameos since returning from injury. But I suppose I won’t quibble too much, and we’ve already seen this year what can happen if Spurs end up in a midfield injury crisis. Fingers crossed that doesn’t happen again.

Harvey White is another young Spurs midfielder who has been tipped for a loan this spring, but we haven’t heard anything about him for a couple of days now.