TOTTENHAM MANAGER MAURICIO Pochettino is reminded of a young Lionel Messi when he watches teenager Marcus Edwards.
Edwards, 17, is set to be given his first-team chance when Spurs host Gillingham in the EFL Cup tonight.
Pochettino praised the England youth international, a left-footed attacking midfielder, who he says reminds him of Barcelona and Argentina great Messi.
“The qualities — it’s only looks, his body and the way that he plays — remember a little bit from the beginning of Messi,” Pochettino said.
“He’s small, he’s left-footed, I remember a little bit (Erik) Lamela when he was at River Plate.
Remember he had long hair, when he was 14, 15 years old, there is a lot of videos on YouTube that you can see, that he took the ball, didn’t give a pass and shot straight away.”
Pochettino believes Edwards, nicknamed ‘Mini Messi’ at the club, has the potential to be a star, but warned the teenager he still had work to do.
“He is a very good prospect and, potentially, he can be a top player but we need to be patient and tell him that he has a lot of talent, enough talent to be a top player, a great player, but now it’s how he builds his future – that’s very important,” he added.
“It’s our responsibility to tell him.”
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