MKSpur
Christian Ziege
Kane injury gives youth a chanceIs Parrot ready?
By Matt Law Football News Correspondent
Troy Parrott celebrates scoring against Barcelona in the Uefa Youth League in December
Harry Kane’s ankle injury has shed new light on Tottenham Hotspur’s relative paucity of striker options, but it could hand an opportunity to another one of the club’s youngsters.
Given that Son Heung-min is also away with South Korea at the Asia Cup, it
caused mild surprise that manager Mauricio Pochettino was so quick to write off any hope of Vincent Janssen being given a chance to impress.
Janssen remains a liked figure around Tottenham, but insiders believe Pochettino would rather promote 16-year-old Troy Parrott than reconsider his decision to make the Dutchman available for transfer.
Parrott was given a place in the travelling squad for the game against Leicester City in December and he is rated as the youngster most likely to next step off the Spurs production line after Oliver Skipp.
Even though he did not get on the bench for the Leicester game, Pochettino name-checked Parrott after the 2-0 success and hinted he could be set for a chance in the event of injuries.
Pochettino said: “All the players that we have in the squad, the younger ones like Oliver Skipp or Troy Parrott, who was involved today for the first time, it's because they're involved in the first team during days, during weeks, during months, and it's only to give the possibility to play.
“I don't doubt and I am not worried about players who are injured or don't perform in their best, because we have another who can replace them. I promise we are going to win or lose with one or another.”
While Pochettino’s team lost to Manchester Unitedand Kane suffered an ankle injury, Parrott underlined his talent at the weekend by scoring twice and creating another goal for Tottenham’s Under-18 side in a 4-1 victory over Brighton.
Last summer, Parrott scored three goals for Republic of Ireland in the European Under-17 Championship, finishing joint second in the goalscoring cards to only Yorbe Vertessen of Belgium and Italy’s Edoardo Vergani.