Naby Sarr: From Scapegoat to Cult Hero
Brady Frost, Feature Writer
Twitter: @brady0894
Source for image above: Twitter
After five years with The Addicks, And He Takes That Chance gets the expert opinion on Town’s newest signing Naby Sarr.
As one former Charlton player looks set to leave, another arrives. With Karlan Grant seemingly set to join West Brom, Huddersfield’s fourth signing of the season was announced on Friday night. Free agent Mouhamadou-Naby Sarr joined the club, after spending the last five years with The Addicks.
Playing as a left-sided centre back, the left-footed defender signed a two-year deal with The Terriers. The 27-year-old is exactly the type of ball-playing defender that new boss Carlos Corberán needed to help with his possession focused style. Corberán mentioned about Sarr’s ability on the ball when the signing was announced. Speaking to the club’s official website, he said:
“He has good physical attributes that fit the demands of Championship football, and at the same time, he feels comfortable on the ball. We want him to reach his best levels again to help our team, and we will help him to achieve that.”
The Senegalese international originally started in Lyon’s youth team, and after making just two appearances for the French side’s senior team was sold to Sporting Lisbon in 2014.
Despite making four appearances in the Champions League against NK Maribor, Chelsea and Schalke, and scoring in a 4-2 win against the German club, he only played for Sporting 12 times.
Signed in 2015 by Charlton Athletic, he didn’t settle to life in England straight away at The Valley Stadium and spent the 2016-17 season out on loan to Parisian team, Red Star FC. Brought back into the fold in the following season by then boss Karl Robinson, it was under current Charlton manager, Lee Bowyer, where Naby Sarr became a mainstay for The Addicks.
Having made 116 appearances for the South London side, by far his longest time at any club, we wanted to get the expert opinion from someone at Charlton who watched him week in, week out. So, to learn more about Huddersfield’s new no.23, we spoke to Lewis Catt from Charlton fan podcast, Charlton Live, to give us the details on what Town can expect from Naby Sarr.
Naby Sarr will have supporters on the edge of their seats, according to Lewis Catt from Charlton Live. Photo source: Charlton Athletic
What kind of player are Huddersfield getting in Naby Sarr?
One thing you can guarantee with Naby Sarr is he will have supporters on the edge of their seats. He has a fantastic ability to carry the ball forward, he can take on his man and is a great finisher as well. He can leave you with your heart in your mouth when he takes on opposition players in his own half but I think people underestimated his ability as 9 times out of 10 he would pull it off!
Lee Bowyer said that Naby Sarr needed support and an arm around him to flourish at Charlton Athletic, what is he like personality-wise?
Naby had a difficult start to life in SE7. He was signed by Guy Luzon in a huge summer overhaul in the summer of 2015 and he came with a quite a big price tag. Making the jump to the Championship given that he was only 21 at the time proved difficult and with off-field issues worsening as the campaign went on, Naby was made a bit of a scapegoat and departed the club on loan the following season.
Karl Robinson gave him a chance the following season but it was under Bowyer when Naby really began to flourish. He ended up finishing runner-up in our Player of the Year Awards at the end of our promotion-winning campaign and that is an absolute testament to Naby and his character and attitude to come back and turn his career around.
Our new boss Carlos Corberan is after a ball-playing centre-back who can help with his possession focused style. What’s Sarr like on the ball?
Naby is a fantastic passer of the ball and has great vision. He will have the odd lapse where a long ball attempt may go wayward but when they come off they can lead to a goal. His assist for Lyle Taylor against Nottingham Forest this season was world-class.
Sarr has played for the France U20 and France U21 teams, but because of his father's Senegalese heritage, he received a call-up to the Senegal national football team in November 2019. Photo source: Le Libero Lyon
At 6ft 5”, he’s a towering presence at the back. How is he dealing with set-pieces, which has been a weakness for Huddersfield?
Sarr is comfortable on the ball. As mentioned before his ability to drive the ball forward and start attacks is one of his stand out strengths. Set pieces were also a weakness at Charlton last season so it would be hard to pinpoint the blame on a sole defender. Naby did have a difficult game away to Millwall back in November where he was arguably at fault for both goals from set-pieces but as I say it was a weakness throughout the team.
From some of his highlights, he seems to be a good finisher for a defender. How would you describe his attacking abilities?
Lee Bowyer has mentioned on more than one occasion that Naby is one of the best finishers at the club. He notched three goals last season and two goals the season before including a remarkable free-kick against AFC Wimbledon.
He left Charlton after his contract expired, how did fans react to the departure? Will he be missed?
Charlton fans will be gutted to see Naby leave the club. He came in a scapegoat and leaves a hero. I think we all expected him to move on given the drop back to League One and the current ongoing off-field issues and transfer embargo preventing us from offering competitive contract offers. Unlike some other players, he stayed and played on after lockdown despite knowing he wouldn’t be here this season.
Despite making four appearances in the Champions League against NK Maribor, Chelsea and Schalke, and scoring in a 4-2 win against the German club, he only played for Sporting 12 times. Photo source: The Sports Mole
How would you sum up his time at Charlton?
A bit of a rollercoaster really! He really wasn’t popular in his first season but became a cult hero. Charlton fans will always admire how he came back and won us over. He has a big heart and will always receive a warm reception should he return to The Valley one day on the opposition’s side.
How do you think he’ll get on at Huddersfield? Is there anything about Naby Sarr that our fans need to know?
Huddersfield seem to be going through a bit of a transition, they had a disappointing campaign last season after dropping from the Premier League and with The Terriers poised to lose Karlan Grant it could be another difficult season ahead. Corberán will have his work cut out this season but Naby will bring something new to the Terriers defence. I can see him linking up well with attacking players like Juninho Bacuna and Karlan Grant (if he stays!) .
How do you think Naby Sarr will get on at Huddersfield? Let us know in the comments!
