Richard Cawley provides a view on Naby Sarr
- Opinion of Huddersfield Town’s new signing
- Richard Cawley discusses Naby Sarr
- Pundit believes Sarr could be a very good signing for Town
How will Naby Sarr fit in at Huddersfield Town? South London News’ Sports Editor Richard Cawley gave his opinion on the defender!
He covered Naby during his five-year spell at Charlton Athletic.
What can supporters expect from Naby Sarr?
One thing that’s for sure with Naby is that he’s a ball playing defender. He’s someone who wants to play out from the back.
He played his best football under Lee Bowyer and he wanted his defenders to get on the ball and be brave on it, which played to Naby’s strengths.
He can ping a cross-field ball 40-50 yards, he’s confident on the ball and, at times, has been a good goal threat. Even under Karl Robinson there were questions of whether he could be used as a striker!
He’s a decent finisher for a big guy. He’s not bad on dead balls either. I think he scored a free-kick at Wimbledon the year Charlton went up.
He’ll step out from the backline too. There were a lot of moments when Naby drove forwards with the ball and Darren Pratley had to drop back into his position. He’s perfectly happy breaking out with the ball.
What was his relationship like with the Charlton fans?
When he first came into the Championship, he was Charlton’s big-money signing and I think the league was a harsh baptism of fire for him. In truth, he fell out of favour quite quickly and he went out on loan.
People didn’t think they’d see him again, but it’s a real testament to his character that instead of disappearing, like many would, he came back, kept trying his best and turned around his reputation with the fans.
He went on to become a bit of a cult-hero and one of the players they really respected. He’s a quiet, softly spoken guy but was very, very popular at Charlton.
Lee Bowyer said himself that he’d have loved to have kept him.
What’s he like defensively?
Physically he has everything in his locker to bully centre-forwards and people he’s marking. The question has been whether he’s too nice?
That’s not to say that Huddersfield Town can’t unlock that side to him. Technically on the ball he has a lot of ability, so if you can unlock that other side, then wow, what a signing.
How good of a signing is Naby Sarr?
You’re still talking with Naby about his potential. You can’t doubt the fact when he’s on the ball he’s really comfortable.
If you can get that ferocity out of him when he defends, then he can be a very, very good pick up.
I think he’s a good signing. I don’t know why but after five seasons at Charlton, I expected him to go abroad and to try something different. The fact he’s still in England shows me he enjoys the challenge of the Championship and that there’s more to come from him.
I think it’s a good signing and time will tell whether he can improve in a few areas to become a top-class Championship defender. I think he can be one.