Kazaiah Sterling has been added to Tottenham’s Champions League squad ahead of their clash against Apoel Nicosia on Wednesday night, it has been confirmed.
The official Uefa website revealed that the centre-forward, 19, was registered on the club’s B list, which consists of home-grown players under the age of 23, before the 12pm Tuesday deadline.
Kazaiah Sterling has been added to our Champions League squad ahead of tonight’s game: https://t.co/z6pKOtOY4f pic.twitter.com/AVdpgxrOOC
— Chris Miller (@WindyCOYS) December 6, 2017
Sterling had not previously been named in Spurs’ Champions League squad, a status that had been afforded to his fellow rookies Luke Amos, 20, and Alfie Whiteman, 19.
Spurs are expected to ring the changes for the televised match against the Cypriot side after securing qualification for the knockout stages and top spot in the group with one match remaining.
Sterling is a regular for Tottenham Under-23s and has not made a first-team appearance for the club.
OPINION
Like Amos, Sterling had been behind the likes of Tashan Oakley-Boothe and Marcus Edwards in the race among the club’s academy products to be fast-tracked into Mauricio Pochettino’s senior squad. But his presence at senior training on Tuesday was a clear hint that he is in Pochettino’s thinking for the Apoel clash, which was corroborated by the manager’s subsequent comments about his attitude. Given that Sterling is almost certain to be named in the matchday squad, it appears that talisman Harry Kane will be given the night off against Apoel for what is effectively a dead rubber. Fernando Llorente is likely to be given a rare start, with Sterling on the bench as the back-up spearhead.