Marcus Edwards was once described as an 'English Messi' but failed to live up to the hype at Spurs - now he is finally ready for his Premier League debut
Tottenham will host a few familiar faces in claret and blue on Saturday with newly promoted Burnley the visitors in north London.
The Clarets have a strong ex-Spurs contingent. For starters, there’s manager Scott Parker, who straddled the Harry Redknapp and Andre Villas-Boas eras and summer signing Kyle Walker, who developed into the best right-back in the country under Mauricio Pochettino.
That duo excelled in N17, playing 63 and 229 times respectively and earning three PFA Team of the Year inclusions between them. But home fans may be more interested in seeing another ex-player, whose Spurs career spanned 15 electrifying minutes in the Carabao Cup.
It’s difficult to remember a Spurs youth teamer generating as much excitement before or since Marcus Edwards’ brief breakthrough early on in the Pochettino era.
The Argentine fueled the hype machine by calling the then-17-year-old “Mini Messi”, a tag that has, for better or worse, stuck with the diminutive dribbler ever since.
“Sometimes I wonder whether it was wise to liken him to Messi. He’s only 17. At that age, Messi was making his debut for a Barcelona side featuring Ronaldinho,” Pochettino later said in journalist Guillem Balague’s book Brave New World.
Pochettino’s comments may have put extra pressure on Edwards, but he was merely articulating out loud what everyone else was already thinking. Speak to any coach who has worked with young players in England over the past 10-15 years and Edwards’ name invariably crops up.
Dan Micciche has worked with academy players at Tottenham, England, MK Dons, Arsenal and Everton, and is now academy director at Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia.
Speaking to The i Paper, he reeled off the names of five players who especially stood out at U15 and U16 level: Phil Foden, Cole Palmer, Dele Alli, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Edwards. Four have played for England and become household Premier League names.
“I probably would have said Marcus Edwards,” Temisan Williams, another experienced youth coach, told The i Paper last week when asked which young player had most caught his eye.
“When I saw him, I genuinely thought I’d seen the English Messi up close. He was just so quick on the ball; it was so easy for him.”
Edwards was a bona fide superstar in academy football; it has taken him far longer to reach the top-flight than many coaches would have anticipated.
Pochettino spoke of Edwards’ “behavioural problems” at Spurs, and a loan at Norwich City was terminated early. Edwards, for his part, admitted to being “a bit difficult” in his teenage years in an interview with The Independent.
Like many of his generation, he started over in Europe, impressing on loan at Rotterdam-based Excelsior before signing for Vitoria de Guimaraes in Portugal on a free.
From there, he went to Sporting Lisbon, where he played under Ruben Amorim, linked up with Pedro Porro on the right wing and won a league title.
He also terrorised Spurs in the Champions League three years ago, almost scoring a magnificent solo goal at the Jose Alvalade Stadium before going one better at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with a crisp strike from range.
After the first meeting, he outlined his aim to return to the Premier League “one day”, an opportunity afforded him by Burnley in February.
A mercurial talent like Edwards may seem like an unnatural fit in a Parker-coached team, though the pair crossed paths at Hotspur Way while the former England midfielder was doing his coaching badges.
Only Leeds and Norwich outscored the Clarets in the Championship, but their promotion was defined by their remarkable defensive record (16 goals conceded, 30 clean sheets).
Nevertheless, Edwards made a solid contribution, scoring and assisting a goal apiece in 14 league matches, 12 of which came as a starter. His introduction into the team coincided with Burnley becoming more prolific: they averaged 2.1 goals per game in their final 15 games, compared to 1.1 in their first 31.
A loan move was made permanent in May.
“It’s the best dressing room I’ve ever been in; everyone is really close and actually friends away from football, it’s class,” he said.
“Every player wants to play in the Premier League and now we’re there, I’m excited. I can’t wait for it now.”
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Edwards has been impactful in pre-season scoring more goals (three) than any other Burnley player, although he came on as a substitute in their final game against Lazio on Saturday.
Maybe that line-up was instructive ahead of Burnley’s opener away to a “Big Six” opponent who delivered a promising display in defeat to PSG in Thomas Frank’s first competitive fixture.
Whether Edwards starts or is named on the bench, everyone connected with Spurs will be eager to get a glimpse of him on a pitch he once looked certain to glide across as a home player.
Such was the fanfare surrounding the boy wonder from Enfield, there will always be a tinge of sadness that he didn’t make it at Spurs, mixed with pride at what he has gone on to achieve elsewhere.
Edwards, who once scored against Arsenal at the Emirates while at Vitoria, will be welcomed back by supporters always eager to see one of their own do well. Just as long as he doesn’t score the winner on Saturday.