Pundit accuses Mourinho of trying to ‘deflect’ from issues with comments on teenager

Danny Mills believes that Jose Mourinho’s praise for Dane Scarlett last week was a means for the Tottenham Hotspur boss to deflect attention from some of the problems he has been having over recent months.

Scarlett has been on fire for the club’s Under-18s this season, having found the back of the net 13 times in 12 matches so far.

The 16-year-old has made three first-team appearances already for Tottenham this season, with his latest coming in North Londoners’ 4-0 win over Wolfsberger last Wednesday.

Scarlett replaced Dele Alli in the 81st minute of the match and made his presence felt, winning the ball back to set up Carlos Vinicius’ second and Tottenham’s fourth goal.

After the game, Mourinho lavished praise on the teenager, comparing him with Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford and revealing that he wants him to be part of the first-team next season.

However, Mills believes that Mourinho’s words were simply an attempt to curry favour amidst Tottenham’s recent struggles by showing that he believes in young players.

Reacting to the Spurs boss’ comments on Scarlett, the pundit told Football Insider: “With a young player coming in, Mourinho is saying he believes in young players and he will use the younger players and give them opportunities.

“It’s Mourinho saying all the right things and maybe trying to cover and deflect from one or two other issues at the club.

“Of course, he’s not going to put a young player in who he feels isn’t ready or is going to be detrimental to himself or the team. That makes no sense for anybody.”

Spurs Web Opinion

I believe that there was likely an element of trying to get in the fans’ and the club’s hierarchy’s good books with Mourinho’s statement regarding Scarlett. However, all managers are guilty of the same when they talk about young players publicly. Mills’ assessment is harsh on Jose as it is evident that the Spurs boss rates Scarlett very highly.

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