OPINION
Tottenham’s ever growing list of youth prospects has seen the club produce some top talent for the first team from their academy and the next wave of hot prospects are already making waves in north London.
Oliver Skipp has made the most of an injury crisis in the midfield to pick up his first run of games for the club – much like Harry Winks did last season – and with Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Moussa Sissoko and Heung-min Son now missing there are more opportunities for youngsters to make their mark.
The club’s last game against Fulham saw 20-year-old Kazaiah Sterling named among the substitutes while Troy Parrott, the 16-year-old striker making a name for himself for the under-18s, was brought along as the 19th man.
With a League Cup semi final clash against Chelsea on Thursday night, the Lilywhites leading 1-0 from the first leg, Spurs know this could be their best shot of silverware this season but with their options depleted, Football.London claim that Sterling and Parrott have been with the first team on the training ground in the build up to the clash.
While both will have eyes firmly focused on earning a place in the first team squad against the Blues, Mauricio Pochettino must break their hearts and call upon more experienced options to fill out the squad, with Lucas Moura said to be back in action after his injury layoff.
Not only is this a chance for Spurs to reach a cup final, it also gives the likes of Lucas to get a much-needed run out ahead of what could be a crunch time in the battle for a Premier League top four finish and with that as the priority, Sterling and Parrott must be sacrificed.
It will be a bitter pill for the young pair to swallow after their preparations during the week but this is professional football and glory is on the line.
Spurs cannot afford to be taking risks if they want to be winning trophies sooner rather than later.