Marcus Edwards

[THFCSPURS19]

https://www.theguardian.com/footbal...ottenham-hotspur-this-summer?CMP=share_btn_tw

‘Mini Messi’ Marcus Edwards seeking exit from Tottenham this summer
• Teenager sees no chance of first-team breakthrough at Spurs
• Pochettino favouring experienced internationals in squad

Marcus Edwards will seek a move away from Tottenham Hotspur this summer, having reluctantly accepted that his chance of a first-team breakthrough under Mauricio Pochettino has gone.

The 19-year-old attacking midfielder has the reputation as one of England’s most exciting talents for his age, despite playing only 15 minutes for Spurs. He has starred for England’s youth teams from Under-16 to Under-20 level.

Edwards made his Tottenham debut as a 75th minute substitute in the EFL Cup against Gillingham at the beginning of 2016-17 and he hoped to progress over this past domestic season.

It has not worked out that way, with Pochettino overlooking him before an unhappy loan at Norwich City from January. Edwards returned early in mid-April, having made one appearance as an 84th-minute substitute against Fulham.

Tottenham continue to believe that Edwards will forge a successful career but they do not think he will make it into Pochettino’s first team in the immediate future. Meanwhile, Edwards is acutely aware of his need for regular football. He is contracted to the summer of 2020.

Pochettino has spoken of the need to fix a “new project” at Tottenham, as the club prepare to move into their rebuilt stadium, and he is keen to bolster his squad with experienced internationals rather than youngsters in order to push for the Premier League title.

The manager once described Edwards as the “mini Messi”, which came to feel like a millstone, and there has been the impression of drift over the past 12 months or so.

 

[Univarn]

Good luck to the lad. Hope he finds a good team he can break through at (Genuinely think he would be gold in a year or two at Ajax or PSV) and also go from promising youth with baggae to professional.

 

[dude573]

He might be another young English talent heading to Germany unfortunately. I really hoped he would have made it here.

 

[GobbyJJ]

We've gotta surely put a buy-back clause in any agreement?

 

[fortworthspur]

gotta be a brain problem.

 

[Dougal]

Pochettino wouldn’t need experienced internationals if the kid was good enough. Anyone who deserves a chance gets one.

 

[Metalhead]

https://www.theguardian.com/footbal...ottenham-hotspur-this-summer?CMP=share_btn_tw

‘Mini Messi’ Marcus Edwards seeking exit from Tottenham this summer
• Teenager sees no chance of first-team breakthrough at Spurs
• Pochettino favouring experienced internationals in squad

Marcus Edwards will seek a move away from Tottenham Hotspur this summer, having reluctantly accepted that his chance of a first-team breakthrough under Mauricio Pochettino has gone.

The 19-year-old attacking midfielder has the reputation as one of England’s most exciting talents for his age, despite playing only 15 minutes for Spurs. He has starred for England’s youth teams from Under-16 to Under-20 level.

Edwards made his Tottenham debut as a 75th minute substitute in the EFL Cup against Gillingham at the beginning of 2016-17 and he hoped to progress over this past domestic season.

It has not worked out that way, with Pochettino overlooking him before an unhappy loan at Norwich City from January. Edwards returned early in mid-April, having made one appearance as an 84th-minute substitute against Fulham.

Tottenham continue to believe that Edwards will forge a successful career but they do not think he will make it into Pochettino’s first team in the immediate future. Meanwhile, Edwards is acutely aware of his need for regular football. He is contracted to the summer of 2020.

Pochettino has spoken of the need to fix a “new project” at Tottenham, as the club prepare to move into their rebuilt stadium, and he is keen to bolster his squad with experienced internationals rather than youngsters in order to push for the Premier League title.

The manager once described Edwards as the “mini Messi”, which came to feel like a millstone, and there has been the impression of drift over the past 12 months or so.

Does feel a little like John Bostock (although I am sure that there are plenty of other examples) in that he has been given loads of hype but has failed to make an impact either at his own club or on loan and hints that the attitude is not always there. I hate these 'the new Messi or the next Ronaldo' tags. It's so lazy and only places unwanted pressure on the player.

 

[eddiev14]

If so, he’s either not shown the desire to be a pro or he’s not developed as we’d have hoped.

Based on what we’ve heard, it’d be likely the former.

My hope is that he gets his head down and the penny finally drops regarding what is required to make it to the top, and he stays with us.

I suspect he’ll blame other people and move elsewhere though. Shame.

 

[Primativ]

The thing is, he went on loan to Norwich and couldn't even get a game there. If the manager at a lower league club isn't giving you a game and yet the player still feels despite all that he should be playing PL games for Spurs it's a bit delusional. There's obviously a fundamental issue or issues with his game.

The likes of Kane went on loan and made a success of it. What's Edwards excuse?

 

[Clark28]

He was injured for a fair chunk of his loan I think.

 

[Tucker]

Seems to me like things went to his head a couple of years ago, he was never going to make it big here once that happened.

 

[spursfan77]

He always looks miserable. Something isn’t right there.

 

[pffft]

I've been half- expecting this for a while now.

Without knowing very much about the situation it does seem to me that he was one of those very talented kids who thought his talent was going to be enough to get him straight to the top at a very young age, and never actually understood that you still need to put in the work.

People telling him he was going to be the world's greatest player while he was still a child won't have helped either, particularly if he already had an ego and a poor work ethic.

I'm not really surprised that he wants a move. I think he probably expected to be a superstar by now and can't understand why he isn't.

Whatever the reasons, and wherever he ends up, I hope he matures enough, quickly enough, to make the most of his talent- because there looks to be a cracking player in there.

 

[fortworthspur]

this is from April, but Poch has flat out said he has behavioral issues and the Norwich manager basically said the same thing

https://www.independent.co.uk/sport...auricio-pochettino-lionel-messi-a8298846.html

 

[richard_gleeson]

Similar to that Man Utd youngster a few years ago that Ferguson said was so talented. I don't know why these kids do it to themselves. Obviously get with the wrong mates and end up chasing women cars and drink.

 

[Hazelton]

Never before have I heard so much about a player, yet seen so little.

 

[spursfan77]

Similar to that Man Utd youngster a few years ago that Ferguson said was so talented. I don't know why these kids do it to themselves. Obviously get with the wrong mates and end up chasing women cars and drink.

I’m reading the secret footballer’s latest book now and it’s clear to see why they do.

 

[KenTHFC]

I’m reading the secret footballer’s latest book now and it’s clear to see why they do.

Dave Kitson giving us the inside scoop ? In all seriousness though his books are very good

 

[THFCSPURS19]

Alasdair Gold mentions something interesting in this - Ajax have been interested in Edwards in the past - could he be part of a deal for De Ligt?

https://www.football.london/tottenh...ottenham-marcus-edwards-germany-ajax-14749533

Exclusive: Spurs wonderkid Marcus Edwards exit could help club sign Ajax star Matthijs de Ligt

The teenager appears to be on the way out of Tottenham this summer


Tottenham Hotspur teenager Marcus Edwards looks to be heading towards the club's exit door this summer and football.london understands that a number of clubs from across Europe are interested in signing him.

The 19-year-old was long considered to be one of the brightest prospects to have come through Spurs' academy in recent years, with his dribbling ability and eye for goal, and he earned lofty comparisons to Lionel Messi from manager Mauricio Pochettino back in 2016.

However Edwards is now reluctantly looking to make a move away from the club this summer, following a season in which the teenager has seen the path to the first team grow ever longer.

football.london understands that clubs from the Premier League, Championship as well as Germany and the Netherlands are all showing an interest in signing the attacking midfielder, who has 50 caps for England at various youth levels.

Tottenham are reluctant to let the teenager go, having signed him up to a new deal until 2020 last summer, but are expected to allow him move on if they are offered a suitable deal, potentially including a buy-back option and sell-on clause.

One possible destination for Edwards could be Eredivise side Ajax. The Dutch giants have previously shown interest in taking the teenager on loan and are keeping close tabs on his situation.

With Spurs looking to sign Ajax defender Matthijs de Ligt this summer, Edwards could potentially be used as part of the deal, heading in the other direction.


Pochettino admitted this year that with the club pushing to new heights in recent season it has become increasingly harder for academy youngsters to break through and this summer in particular he is set to be handed a substantial transfer war chest to take the club to the next level.

"We have built a very strong squad and the demands are higher [for the academy players]," the Argentine said. "If you were seven out of 10, you were going to have the possibility to play but now we have said to them they need to be an eight or an eight and a half."

Edwards first came to Spurs fans' attention with a sparkling ten-minute cameo against Gillingham in the League Cup back in 2016.

The teenager drew lofty praise from his manager, who said he had 'similar traits' to a young Messi and Erik Lamela and that if he was Brazilian or Argentinean then the whole world would be talking about him.

However, an ankle injury that season stopped Edwards from making any further progress that season and then the following year he seemed to drop off the grid somewhat in terms of the first team picture, despite impressing for the U23s and U19s in Europe.

The Argentine admitted that comparing Edwards to Messi was an error.

"Maybe I made a mistake. I believed it was positive and he was going to take it in a positive way. When you’re young, sometimes you need more time. Sometimes you stop your evolution. We still trust in him," the Spurs boss said.

"No, I’m not going to talk about [questions over the player's attitude]. It’s about performance. Of course he needs to work hard like different players that we have in the academy, and wait for the opportunity. It’s never easy, the last step, to join the first team from the academy."

Pochettino made the unusual step of talking about the teenager 'having behavioural issues and problems with authority' in his book ' A Brave New World'.

Edwards was handed that new deal though as the club believed in his talent and eventually sent out on loan to Norwich in January to get a taste of first team life.

However, the move proved to be a disaster with a back injury initially hampering his early weeks and the loan was terminated early, with Edwards having played just a handful of minutes during one substitute appearance and he returned to Spurs amid more claims about his attitude as well as time-keeping issues.

There is no doubt that Edwards has talent aplenty though and he caught the eye of many clubs in Europe with his performances and goals during the club's UEFA Youth League matches last season, before his move to Norwich, as Spurs sparkled against the likes of Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund and Apoel Nicosia.

His development squad team-mate Keanan Bennetts moved to Bundesliga side Borussia Monchengladbach for £2m this summer and it appears that a fresh start also beckons for Edwards.

 

[bceej]

Think Holland would be the best place for him.