Sherwood: This Tottenham academy ace is an acquired tasted but I love him to death
By Harry Sykes
Tim Sherwood has revealed he is a massive fan of Tottenham wonderkid Marcus Edwards but admits he is an “acquired taste”.
The young playmaker has a burgeoning reputation at White Hart Lane and is widely hailed as the most exciting of the next generation of talent emerging from within the club.
Former Spurs manager Sherwood, who used to run the club’s development squad, is convinced Edwards has a big future but explained that he must make some improvements to his game.
“Marcus is a very acquired taste. I love him to death,” Sherwood said in a question-and-answer session with the Facebook page of Squawka.
“He’s 5ft 5inch, technically gifted, left footed. Hopefully he gets a little bit more zip when he grows. He’s under match rated at the moment.”
Tottenham agreed deals in January to send six of their young players out on loan to lower league clubs for the second half of the season, but Edwards will remain at White Hart Lane with the club’s coaching staff.
Sherwood believes Edwards’ lack of physical presence means he could struggle to make an impression in the Football League.
“He’s a difficult one for Tottenham to loan out to League One, because you don’t see many players of that size in League One and the ball will be over the top of him all the time,” Sherwood said to Squawka.
Edwards, who turned 18 in December, is closing in on a return to fitness after being absent since October with an ankle injury.
Tottenham fans have high hopes for Edwards, who has been likened to a young Lionel Messi by his manager due to his left-footed dribbling and technical ability.
The 17-year-old was handed his senior Spurs debut as a second-half substitute in their 5-0 League Cup win over Gillingham in September, 24 hours after being hailed as a potential great by Pochettino.
“He [Edwards] is a very good prospect and, potentially, he can be a top player but we need to be patient and tell him that he has a lot of talent, enough talent to be a top player, a great player but now it’s how he builds his future, that’s very important,” Pochettino said, as quoted by the Telegraph. “And it’s our responsibility to tell him.”
The young playmaker was selected on Spurs’ pre-season tour of Australia and made a huge impression in a number of pre-season friendlies.
He is not expected to play any part on Saturday when Tottenham host Middlesbrough in the Premier League as they aim to keep the pressure on leaders Chelsea.
Spurs dropped points in midweek when they drew 0-0 against Sunderland, which means they remain nine points behind Antonio Conte’s pacesetters.
In other Tottenham news, a striker has signed after Spurs agreed terms.
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