Tottenham’s academy director has called for “calm” over teenager Mikey Moore but says head coach Ange Postecoglou is eager to blood young players in the first-team.
Moore is set to line up for England against Italy tonight in their Under-17 European Championship quarter-final in Cyprus. The 16-year-old forward scored four times in England’s three group games, including outstanding goals against France and Spain.
He finished the season training with Postecoglou’s senior squad and made his Spurs debut as an 89th-minute substitute in the 2-0 defeat to Manchester City, before another brief cameo against Sheffield United on the final day.
Postecoglou said in April that Moore “hasn’t looked out of place” around the first-team but, despite his progress, Simon Davies, who heads Spurs’ academy, believes both player and club must remain level-headed.
“It’s encouraging that the manager sees something in Mikey but it is just potential at the moment,” Davies told Standard Sport this month.
“He’s a 16-year-old boy. He’s not 17 until August, so he’s a young boy with high potential. We have several of them in the academy.
Mikey Moore appeared twice for Spurs at the end of the season
“It’s exciting for the academy to have a player so young on the bench. But we have to stay calm and consistent. Because at the moment, it is just [potential].
“I spoke to him this morning while he was having his breakfast about staying calm and consistent and keep working hard every day, do the small things right [because] the small things get noticed.
“He’s super mature for a young boy so let’s hope his potential is fulfilled but unfortunately we haven’t got a crystal ball. So we just have to do all the things right every day and stay consistent and calm.”
Jamie Donley, 19, also made his first-team debut under Postecoglou this season, while Alfie Dorrington, 19, and Tyrese Hall, 18, were included in Premier League matchday squads.
Davies says Postecoglou, who was appointed with a remit to rebuild the link between academy and first-team, is keen to blood young players, provided they are good enough.
“I speak to the manager regularly and he’s got a real thirst for youth development,” Davies said. “He understands the fans’ and the club’s ambitions to have several – not just one – but several of our own in the first-team.
“But it’s my job to make sure those players are at the level of Ange. It’s not a given. We’re Tottenham, we want to be a Champions League club that’s fighting at the top end. So we have to make sure the players are at the right level.
“It’s not fair to ask a manager at any club to give young players a go when they’re not at the level. I know Ange is ready for young players to go in the first team.”
