Parrott only made four appearances during his seven years at Tottenham
He has scored 17 times for AZ Alkmaar this season ahead of facing his old club
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By MATT BARLOW
Published: 17:30 EST, 5 March 2025 | Updated: 17:36 EST, 5 March 2025
Troy Parrott's Tottenham career did not amount to very much for one with such talent and promise.
Ninety-six minutes and no goals, starting with defeat on penalties in a League Cup tie at Colchester followed by six minutes from the bench in two Premier League games.
It ended with cruel symmetry as Tim Krul saved his penalty in an FA Cup shootout defeat by Norwich on a night when Eric Dier waded into the home crowd to confront abusive Spurs fans.
Covid brought the country to a halt and Parrott never got going again in London. Few noticed when AZ Alkmaar paid £7million for him last summer. But he has thrived in the Netherlands, first on loan at Excelsior last season and now in a young AZ outfit who are sixth in the league and in the Dutch Cup final. They lost 1-0 at Spurs in October, but have improved.
Parrott was identified by AZ after impressing at Excelsior. They wanted him to replace Vangelis Pavlidis, a Greek they signed from Willem II aged 22 and sold to Benfica for £18m. Pavlidis was joint top scorer in the Eredivisie last season with 29 goals. ‘It was not easy for Troy to follow that,’ says Simon Zwartkruis of Dutch magazine Voetbal International. ‘Expectations were high, but you can compare their situations.
‘Four years ago, Pavlidis was not so well known. He came after doing well at a smaller club, like Parrott. They were a similar age. Everyone was looking to see if he was good enough for AZ and it took him a year or so to reach the level needed. If you compare him in his first season, Pavlidis had 15 goals by the beginning of March and Parrott has 17.’
Troy Parrott has scored 17 goals this season for AZ Alkmaar as he prepares to face Tottenham
Parrott had little impact at Spurs with a missed penalty his final competitive act for the club
Jose Mourinho gave Parrott his Premier League debut and some felt he had something special
Parrott has been embraced by AZ supporters, who have a reputation for high standards. They expect to win playing attractive football and see players grafting.
There are those at Spurs who always thought Parrott had something special. It was his instinct for finishing that first prompted them to offer an escape from Dublin’s north inner city, an area beset by social problems.
He was playing for Belvedere, a club who have brought through 16 internationals but never anyone better than a young Parrott.
‘Big, fast, strong, brave and always scoring goals,’ said Vincent Butler, the club’s co-founder.
‘He chased everything, that was his trademark. There was no such thing as a lost cause where Troy was concerned.’
Spurs won a scramble to sign him but failed to turn him into a first-team player. Jose Mourinho, who gave Parrott his top-flight debut at 17, less than a month after his first Republic of Ireland cap, questioned his attitude when he was asked to return to the Under 21s.
Underwhelming loans at Ipswich and Millwall were followed by 10 goals at Milton Keynes Dons and an ineffectual year at Preston, before kicking on in the Netherlands. He scored 17 for Excelsior under boss Marinus Dijkhuizen, a former striker who focused on Parrott’s positional awareness.
‘He wanted to play too much football all over the pitch,’ he told Mail Sport.
Parrott had underwhelming loans at the likes of Milwall
The forward scored 10 goals at Milton Keynes Dons in his more productive EFL loan
Parrott opted to end the instability by joining AZ Alkmaar and has thrived at the Dutch club
The Irish forward will be looking to impress against his former club in the Europa League
‘His main quality is calmness in front of goal, but he was often not in the war zone when crosses came in. That was the main thing we changed. He became very important to us and cared about the team, even though he was on loan. His game suits the style of football in the Netherlands.
‘I like him and he is still young, playing at a bigger club in big games, like against Spurs.’
Tottenham hoped he might echo Harry Kane, returning from multiple loans to break into the first team, but Parrott wanted to end the instability.
‘I’ve no regrets,’ he said. ‘It didn’t happen for me at Spurs and I’m OK with that. It was the right time for both of us to move on and when I look back I think of the good times. I love life here and I’m focusing on that; keep improving.
‘We are a lot better than when we played in London. I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do and it will be nice to see some familiar faces.’
Europa LeagueTottenham Hotspur