It will be a shock if Tottenham youngster Troy Parrott doesn’t make his senior debut against Colchester United later this month, according to Football.London journalist Alasdair Gold.
The 17-year-old starlet has yet to feature for Mauricio Pochettino’s first team, but is expected to get the nod when Spurs kick off their Carabao Cup campaign against the League Two side on September 24th.
When asked during a Q&A what the chances were out of 10 for Parrott making his debut, Gold said: “Unless he picks up a knock I’d go for 10. I’d be shocked if he doesn’t make his competitive Spurs debut against Colchester.
“Pochettino uses the Carabao Cup to blood young players and this is the perfect opportunity if he doesn’t get an opportunity beforehand.
“The 17-year-old starred against the likes of Juventus, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Inter Milan in pre-season, up against experienced international defenders, and Pochettino and his coaching staff have been delighted by his progress this summer, working closely with Harry Kane and other first team stars.”
How important will Parrott be this season?
It is certainly unorthodox for a Champions League finalist to go into the new season with just the one out and out senior striker in their squad, but that is the situation facing Tottenham at the moment.
After failing to recapture Fernando Llorente this summer, Harry Kane has been left as Spurs’ only proven option in that role, and that means that there could be a lot of emphasis on Parrott.
Obviously, if Kane is fit, then he won’t get a sniff, unless it is in the cups.
Kane has started this season much as he finished the last, hitting three goals in his first four Premier League matches, and averaging a colossal 3.3 shots per game, as per Whoscored.
He is unquestionably one of the best strikers in the world, but equally and vitally, he has a tendency to miss chunks of the season through injury.
Last year, he missed a total of 17 matches through various complaints, as per Transfermarkt, and the season before that he was absent on three separate occasions. In 2016/17 he missed 14 games in total with an ankle problem.
In short, he has form for that kind of thing, and it could easily happen again.
If that happens, Parrott could end up being thrown in at the deep end, and the sooner that he is given some first-team experience by his manager, the better for everybody involved.