Jack Pitt-Brooke has revealed that people at Tottenham did not expect Marcus Edwards to develop into the player he has.
Edwards was certainly highly thought of while coming through the Spurs academy, with the youngster being handed his senior debut by Mauricio Pochettino in 2016 aged just 17.
The former Spurs boss even likened the teenager to Lionel Messi following his debut in the EFL Cup against Gillingham (Sky Sports).
However, the youngster became frustrated with his lack of opportunities over the next few years and eventually left in 2019, signing for Portuguese top-flight side Vitoria Guimaraes.
Edwards’ displays for Vitoria caught the attention of Sporting Lisbon, who snapped him up in the January transfer window and he has been a revelation since moving to the Jose Alvalade Stadium.
Spurs witnessed the winger’s talent first-hand on Tuesday as the Lilywhites backline struggled to contain him in the 2-0 defeat to the Portuguese giants at the Jose Alvalade Stadium.
Pitt-Brooke has now revealed that the Tottenham hierarchy has been surprised by how quickly Edwards has developed.
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He said on The Athletic Football Podcast: “He’s proved a lot of people wrong. When he left, people didn’t necessarily think he’d be at this level three years on.”
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As I remember it, Edwards’ ability was never in doubt during his time at Spurs. It is his attitude that Pochettino seemed to have a problem with. Looking back, there appears to be no doubt that the North London club should have persisted with the youngster and perhaps given him more first-team opportunities.
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