Former Republic of Ireland manager urges Troy Parrott to leave Tottenham

Former Republic of Ireland boss, Mick McCarthy, has urged Troy Parrott to leave Tottenham on loan in search of some first-team experience.

Parrott was handed his senior Ireland debut by McCarthy in a 3-1 win over Newzeland back in November 2019 and subsequently made his Premier League debut for Spurs off the bench in the 5-0 win against Burnley in December.

However, the youngster has failed to get much of a look in at Spurs since the turn of the new year, despite the injuries to Harry Kane and Son Heung-min.

Earlier this year, McCarthy was rather vocal about his displeasure in Parrott not going out on loan during the January transfer window (Irish Times).

The 61-year-old stepped down as Republic of Ireland manager last month and was replaced by Stephen Kenny. He has now urged Parrott to follow in the footsteps of Dele Alli and Harry Kane, who proved themselves in the lower leagues before breaking through.

When asked about the young striker, McCarthy told The Experience Epic podcast (as relayed by TEAMtalk): “He’s got to play.

“People have likened him to Robbie Keane and it might be in terms of a goalscorer, but certainly different in terms of his personality.

“Robbie got in the Ireland team at 18, he was in the Wolves team as well and he lit the place up.

“Troy is going to be a good player and I loved working with him, but unless he is going to play in someone’s first team, then no (he won’t progress).

“Dele Alli went to MK Dons and did exceptionally well, Harry Kane went to Millwall, Leicester and Leyton Orient and he made himself a player by going out there and I think Troy has got to do that.”

Spurs Web Opinion

McCarthy certainly has a point as continuing to play youth football can only take a player’s development so far. I believe Parrott will be loaned out to a Championship club next season, with Spurs likely to bring in another striker as a backup to Harry Kane. We must be careful to send him to the right club as the last thing we need is another Jack Clarke situation where he spends most of the season on the bench.

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