Jose Mourinho has praised Oliver Skipp’s cameo off the bench in Tottenham’s 2-1 win against Arsenal on Sunday and shed light on why he bought the youngster on.
Skipp has made several appearances for the Tottenham first-team since Mourinho’s arrival in North London.
The midfielder started a couple of matches prior to the lockdown and even earned the Spurs boss’ praise for his performance in the FA Cup defeat to Norwich City on penalties back in March (Football.London).
The 19-year-old had not been involved since the restart with the likes of Harry Winks, Giovani Lo Celso, and Moussa Sissoko seemingly being first choices.
However, the teenager did come on for a ten-minute cameo on Sunday as he replaced Giovani Lo Celso in the 84th minute of the game, with Spurs looking to hold on to their 2-1 lead.
Mourinho admitted that he wanted Skipp to be involved since he understands the nature of the North London Derby having come through the ranks in the club’s academy.
Speaking after the win, the 57-year-old told Spurs TV: “Something I did because the team needed but in the end, it’s something that I feel very deeply, was to play Skipp.
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“I know his blood is Spurs blood. I know what it means for him to play against Arsenal, to beat Arsenal.
“Again I repeat, I played him because we needed him. Giovani had a yellow card, Winks had a yellow card.
“Skipp is very aggressive in midfield. He could perfectly be in that dog fight of the last 10-15 mins of the game.
“In the end, I have a special feeling for him because I know what it means for him.”
Spurs Web Opinion
It is clear from the way Jose speaks about Skipp that he rates him quite highly. While the youngster only played 10 minutes, I was extremely impressed with his ability to break up play, receive the ball in tight spaces and recycle possession. Skipp has shown that he has all the attributes to play Winks’ role and I believe he could potentially oust the England international next season. He could also save the club millions in the transfer market.
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