Head of academy coaching at Spurs opens up on future of Oliver Skipp

Chris Powell, who is the current head of coaching at the Tottenham academy, has spoken out on the future of Oliver Skipp this week in an interview with Sky Sports.

Powell was given the Spurs academy role in 2020 after John McDermott left the club to join the FA. The new coach has been working closely with Ryan Mason, head of player development, at Tottenham this season.

The academy coach revealed that he had only met Skipp a couple of times because the Spurs midfielder went out on loan before Powell arrived in North London.

However, Powell had plenty of nice words to say about Skipp and his current loan at Norwich City down in the Championship, labelling him as ‘outstanding’ and claiming that there is a lot of trust in the young man.

Skipp has played 42 games for the Canaries this season as they push for a Championship title and promotion to the Premier League. In fact, the Spurs man has appeared in every single one of Norwich’s 40 Championship games this season (TransferMarkt).

Powell said (Sky Sports Football 06/04/21 at 7:40 pm): “He has had an outstanding loan.

“I only met him a couple of times because he went out on loan before I joined Spurs. But everyone speaks highly of him.

“He has been at the club since he was seven, so he has developed through all the age groups. And played at England’s youth levels, so there is a lot of trust in him. I think that’s a big thing for a player when you know the manager trusts you and Oliver Skipp has that.

“I mean he has excelled. He has only missed one game and that’s because he was away with England. They obviously like him. I know he trains well regularly.

“Who knows what will happen next season for him. He has a decision to make. I mean he signed a long-term contract with Spurs before he left.

“But he has gone there, he has been exposed to senior football and learning what it means to win football matches. And he has taken to it ever so well.”

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