It is safe to say that any player who turns out for Tottenham Hotspur will be taken under the wing of Heung-min Son, but one academy star in particular has really impressed the Spurs skipper of late.
Sonny wants to help Spurs youngster
Son has now been at Spurs for almost a decade, and has seen a number of top young players come and go. Some have made a big impact, others have not, but the club has one talent right now that could and should go to the very top.
Mikey Moore may only just be 17-years-old, but he’s worked his way into Ange Postecoglou‘s first-team plans. Having stepped up and made his debut at the end of last season, the teenager spent the summer with the senior squad and got some more minutes under his belt at the weekend against Brentford.
Discussing Moore’s talents and his attitude, Son was very complimentary of the young winger, and explained how he is trying to help him develop.
He told Football.London: “He’s a fantastic boy and obviously, he’s coming from the academy, so you as a club look after him even more.
“Everybody is so welcoming and looking after him, so do I, because he’s such a lovely kid and working hard every single day, coming with the first-team at that age is not easy.
“But he’s showing good personality and working hard, which is very important to me. When you see the young players working hard in the first-team you just want to help. When I was young, and now he’s coaching at Manchester United, Ruud van Nistelrooy was helping me a lot in my Hamburg time.
“Now I want to be that guy as well, you know, just having him around me and just talking about things, because we are playing in a similar position that if I can help him a little bit with advice, then I’m always open to it.”
Keep the pressure off Moore
Son understands the importance of not expecting too much from Moore too soon, though, and insists that the prodigious talent can fulfil his potential if he keeps playing with freedom.
He added: “Mikey is also coming to me most of the times and asking questions, which is very fun. I enjoy talking to him. He’s a fantastic boy and then I’m definitely sure that he can be a fantastic player. There’s no doubt because he has such amazing quality.
“As we always say about young players, let’s don’t give him too much pressure on his shoulders. Just let’s enjoy how he develops, how he improves every single day, every single season and as a fan, as supporters, we should just enjoy watching him and he will be, I think, one of the top players.”
Ange Postecoglou has to get the balance right
I completely agree that we all need to try and temper our expectations for Mikey Moore and not push him into the deep end too quickly. But, he is clearly good enough, and I do think Postecoglou should give him more substantial opportunities rather than just a five-minute cameo here and there.
If he’s in the squad, he’s obviously ready. I would love to see him get a few starts in the cups, and get 30 minutes or so in the league every now and again.