It was a fear as soon as his name was linked to the Tottenham job, yet just three games into his tenure at Spurs, it is still unknown whether or not Jose Mourinho will give youngsters a chance.
Tottenham have made a great name for themselves in the past few years of being one of the biggest clubs in England, and potentially Europe, that were brave enough to give youth players a chance in the first-team if they were deemed ready to play, and for the most part, it was a good ploy.
Will Mourinho's give youth players a chance?YesNo |
The likes of Harry Winks and Kyle Walker-Peters have developed into important members of the first-team, and exciting prospects like Oliver Skipp and Troy Parrott looked set to be the latest players to make the leap from the youth academy to the senior squad.
Indeed, the Irish international was vital for Spurs’ U-18 side this week as the north London side eliminated Liverpool from the prestigious FA Youth Cup, an upset of sorts considering the Reds are the reigning holders of the cup, and this impressive feat only goes to show that Mourinho should be bucking the trend and actually give youth a chance.
The Portuguese coach’s mentality of staying clear from youth players has often painted a negative picture for Mourinho, with Tifo Football dubbing the former Manchester United boss as ‘The Enemy of the Academy’, but at Tottenham, where The Guardian report there will be no money to spend in January, the Spurs manager will seemingly have no choice but to turn to prospects.
Tottenham’s reputation of handing youth players a chance to show off their talents in the first-team is one of the best in England, and this FA Youth Cup upset only goes to prove that there are some prospects in the academy that could seemingly come up and help out the first-team, and for Mourinho, he needs to bite the bullet and continue the work his predecessor prided himself on.