OPINION
Tottenham have been dealt a rough hand regarding injuries in recent weeks and their available attacking options are looking few and far between.
Spurs lost their main attacker Harry Kane to injury after he sustained a problem in the clash with Manchester United and then midfielder Dele Alli, who is known to pop up with a goal or two, suffered a hamstring injury in the 2-1 win over Fulham (Source: BBC Sport).
Brazilian attacker Lucas Moura has also been battling an injury as of late which has caused him to miss several games and it would be a lot of pressure to ask him to be ready to fire on all cylinders anytime soon for that reason.
This is even the case if manager Mauricio Pochettino is optimistic enough to suggest that Moura could start up front against Chelsea on Thursday, as transcribed by Evening Standard.
Given that Spurs have avoided spending big in recent windows and show no signs of that changing, Pochettino needs to gamble on the talented players lurking in the club’s academy.
This is particularly the case when you consider that the experienced forward Fernando Llorente was given an opportunity against Fulham and was more of a liability than anything else.
One of the players Pochettino must gamble on by handing him at least a taste of first-team action is promising 20-year-old attacker Kazaiah Sterling.
The Spurs gem has scored four goals, and assisted two, in his seven Premier League 2 outings this season and he could do a job to cover for Spurs injury problems as a result.
While he doesn’t have the experience, Sterling will no doubt be chomping at the bit to seize any opportunity to add to the one senior appearance he has made for the club and this could see him flourish.
Former Spurs boss Tim Sherwood commented on the 20-year-old potentially getting a chance while on Sky Sports’ The Debate on Monday and while he raved about his ability in some regards, he did fire a warning indirectly at Pochettino about it being a major risk to play him.
“Sterling, Sterling is a very young boy with a lack of experience and no game time up to now really so that would be a major risk but you never know,” said Sherwood on Sky Sports’ The Debate (Sky Sports Premier League, Monday January 21st, 22:55).
“Until they get an opportunity to play you just don’t know how good they are, the boy is very confident, he’s an out-and-out No.9 and he has good pace, erm if I stuck my neck on line to say is he ready? Of course he is not cause he hasn’t played up till now but he might be good enough to thicken up the squad.”
Sherwood’s verdict is right to suggest that until he is truly given a chance, it’s unclear whether to know he is good enough, and with that in mind it’s worth gambling on him as it’s not like Pochettino has a tremendous amount of options left.