Tottenham Hotspur have confirmed that they have lost highly rated youth coach Scott Parker to London and Premier League rivals Fulham as he takes on a role in the Cottagers’ first team.
The Lilywhites revealed the former midfielder’s exit from the club, where he was a head coach for the under-18 side, via their official Twitter account, returning to the club where he finished his playing career at back in 2017.
The Club can confirm that Scott Parker has left his role as our U18s Coach to take up a first team coaching position at Fulham. We wish him all the best for the future.
Following Scott’s departure, Matt Wells will assume coaching responsibilities for our U18s. pic.twitter.com/NvHsZbczuE
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) July 4, 2018
Parker was thought of highly by those at Spurs, both on a personal and professional level, with head of coaching and player development John McDermott saying on his appointment at the club last summer: “I know how passionately Scott feels about the personal qualities Mauricio (Pochettino) needs from players to be a success in our first team and I know he will develop these qualities in our players on and off the training pitch.”
Opinion
Losing Parker to Fulham after just a year in the youth set up will be a big blow to Tottenham, who would no doubt have been impressed with his work over the past 12 months. Still, it seems too big an opportunity to refuse him, and he will now be going up against Pochettino when Fulham take on Spurs in the Premier League. Parker is obviously very well regarded by his former clubs, both Tottenham and the Cottagers offering him important roles despite his relative lack of experience, and he is well on the way to forging himself a career as a successful coach. Could he be sitting in the manager’s seat at either side in the near future? Well, he might not be assistant at Fulham but if Slavisa Jokanivoc fails to make the grade in the top flight, there may well be an opening sooner than he thinks.