Marcus Edwards was as soon as likened to Lionel Messi by former Tottenham Hotspur boss Mauricio Pochettino and we’re lastly beginning to see that potential shine via.
Solely it’s away from north London.
The 23-year-old was let go in the summertime of 2019 and two-and-a-half years later, he has secured a reasonably profitable transfer in Portugal, the place he has been thriving ever since.
Did Spurs surrender on Marcus Edwards too quickly?
YES!
NO!
The place is Edwards now?
Certainly, the previous England U20 worldwide joined Primeira Liga champions Sporting Lisbon for €7.67m (£6.5m), signing a contract till 2026. A membership famed for its youth system, one which noticed the likes of Ballon d’Or winners Cristiano Ronaldo and Luis Figo break via.
He signed for Ruben Amorim’s Lions from Vitoria Guimaraes, the place he delivered 20 objectives and 16 assists throughout 96 appearances, which labored out to be one direct objective contribution each 175.6 minutes, through Transfermarkt.
A really respectable return for a younger participant that was forged away by the Premier League giants, maybe just a little prematurely.
“The qualities – it’s solely appears, his physique and the best way that he performs – keep in mind just a little bit from the start of Messi,” Pochettino revealed again in 2016 (through Sky Sports activities).
“He’s small, he’s left-footed, I keep in mind just a little bit [Erik] Lamela when he was at River Plate, keep in mind he had lengthy hair, when he was 14, 15 years previous, there may be a number of movies on YouTube you can see, that he took the ball, didn’t give a move and shot immediately.
“He [Edwards] is an excellent prospect and probably he is usually a prime participant, however we have to be affected person and inform him that he has a number of expertise, sufficient expertise to be a prime participant, an excellent participant.”
On the time of his exit from the Lilywhites, the English winger was valued at a lowly £1.13m (Transfermarkt). That has since skyrocketed 935% to £11.7m – greater than the worth Sporting Lisbon paid, so that they’re getting fairly the discount.
“He’s of a weird degree, what he can do is admittedly not regular, I’ve not skilled a greater participant in my profession, and Mauricio Pochettino didn’t make that comparability with Messi for nothing,” former Excelsior Rotterdam teammate Jeffry Fortes as soon as instructed Voetbal Worldwide.
Given his age, Edwards remains to be nowhere close to competing on the prime of his sport, so this may increasingly merely be the start of a protracted, fruitful and profitable profession, one which Spurs will undoubtedly remorse lacking out on now.
These round Hotspur Method thought they had been grooming an actual star of the long run within the Messi-like gem, however it’s over in Portugal the place this flower has blossomed.
AND in different information, Paratici might finish Conte’s ongoing Spurs nightmare with “swashbuckling” £10m discount…