Tottenham’s ‘mini Messi’ Marcus Edwards keeping feet on the ground after debut in the EFL Cup
Teen prodigy targets more first-team action at Spurs after EFL Cup bow against Gillingham
MARCUS EDWARDS is determined to keep his feet on the ground after making his Tottenham debut.
The 17-year-old was likened to Barcelona star Lionel Messi earlier in the week by boss Mauricio Pochettino.
The Spurs chief handed the teen his first-team bow from the bench on Wednesday as the north London side defeated Gillingham 5-0 in the EFL Cup.
Edwards almost made it a dream debut as he narrowly missed the target from the edge of the area late on.
“A lot of things were going through my mind,” he said when reflecting on his big chance.
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“I probably should have placed it, but you score some and you don’t.
“I knew I was going to come on but I was itching to come on earlier. I kept looking at the bench to see if I was ready to come on, it was exciting.”
Edwards, an England U18 international, signed a two-year contract with Spurs in the summer after graduating through the club’s academy.
The diminutive left footer, who is usually deployed in the No10 position, was all the talk before the game following his manager’s comments on Tuesday.
Pochettino said: “His qualities … it’s only looks – his body and the way that he plays – remember a little bit from the beginning of Messi.”
Now he has been handed a taste of first-team action at White Hart Lane, naturally the youngster is desperate for more.
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But the 5’ 5 attacker is not getting carried away by his involvement with the senior squad, and he insists he will continue to keep working hard at his game.
Edwards told Tottenham’s website: “Now that we’ve got it [first appearance] it just makes us hungry for more.
“That’s what I want to do, just get my head down and play football.”