Tottenham starlet Marcus ‘Mini Messi’ Edwards stayed put to stake his claim for a first-team place
Teenager confident that training with Spurs' stars can win first-team spot next year as opposed to loan spell in Championship
TOTTENHAM'S Mini-Messi Marcus Edwards stayed put because he wants to fight for a first-team breakthrough.
That's the lowdown on why the pint-sized midfielder didn't go out on loan.
It had been suggested that a spell in the Championship or League One might have been the ideal short-term solution for the 18-year-old who is highly-rated by Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino.
At the same time Pochettino feels there are some issues in his game that could be ironed out by playing regular first-team football elsewhere.
But the youngster apparently thinks that training with Tottenham's superstars can develop him at the right rate to propel him into Spurs' senior set-up next season.
According to the respected David Hytner, a senior football writer at the Guardian, 'Edwards turned down loan moves to the Championship and Holland because he wants to fight for a first-team breakthrough at #thfc'
The midfielder is definitely tipped for stardom by those Tottenham fans who keep a close eye on the club's academy.
Injury did thwart his progress last season but he did at least make his debut, albeit for just 15 minutes against Gillingham in the EFL Cup.
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Edwards, of course, carries with him the God-like comparison with Lionel Messi - and that's some burden.
Actually, the teenager was casually compared to the Barcelona maestro by Pochettino.
In truth the Spurs boss wasn't setting Edwards up as one of the world's two best players!
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He was only really referring to his miniature frame and position as a floating No 10 when he mentioned him in the same breath as Messi.
But the name has stuck and there are surely worse nicknames than Mini-Messi.
And more cup appearances will surely follow for Edwards to rubber stamp his prodigious talent.
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