Charlton Athletic boss Bowyer reacts to Naby Sarr’s departure + how he got best out of French defender
Lee Bowyer reckons Naby Sarr needed support to flourish at Charlton Athletic – and has wished the defender all the best for his future.
The Addicks announced recently that they had released the centre-back, 26.
Bowyer wanted to keep Sarr but knew that would not be possible with the South London outfit under a transfer embargo.
He was one of the top earners at the club after arriving on a five-year deal from Portuguese side Sporting in 2015.
“I’m sad to see Naby go,” said Bowyer. “He is a lovely fella and very good in possession – he got us playing.
“I’d have liked to have kept him but under this embargo we’ve go no chance. He’s had to move on.”
Sarr was loaned to French side Red Star FC for the 2016-17 season after a wretched first campaign for the Addicks which culminated in their relegation to League One.
But he came back to feature much more prominently once Bowyer succeeded Karl Robinson in the Valley hotseat.
“I can imagine that rough start was tough for him because he is a really quiet lad,” said Bowyer. “He was young and expectations were high because the club had paid a fee for him.
“I don’t think he would have got coached the way we were coaching. We got the best out of him and that comes down to coaching.
“It would’ve been a combination of things as to why he had a bad start and why he had a good end. It’s about putting an arm around him – making him realise he is a good player and bringing that out of him, that’s why he had a good end.
“He’s a good lad and he will go on. He’s still only young, because of his size you sometimes forget he was a young kid with a lot of expectation on his shoulders.
“Now he is coming into his peak, now he has to progress. Hopefully everything we have passed on to him he takes that with him, wherever he goes.”
MAIN PHOTO: KYLE ANDREWS