Ange Postecoglou sends clear Tottenham warning over 'special' Mikey Moore: 'Got to be really careful'

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·3. Oktober 2024

Ange Postecoglou sends clear Tottenham warning over 'special' Mikey Moore: 'Got to be really careful'

Spurs boss insists club cannot take unnecessary risks in young star’s development

Ange Postecoglou said Tottenham teenager Mikey Moore has "got something special" after his full debut against Ferencvaros but warned the club must be "really careful" in handling all their young stars.

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Moore, 17, was one of four teenagers to start in Budapest as Spurs beat the Hungarian champions 2-1 to make it two wins from two in the Europa League.

"I thought he was outstanding," Postecoglou said afterwards. "It's brilliant for a 17-year-old to play 90 plus minutes in a European away tie.

"He just handled it superbly, I kind of knew he would and I think it'll help his growth as a footballer once you get through a sort of experience like that. I think he'll grow and evolve and I didn't feel like I needed to take him off. He still looked strong at the end and was still contributing."

Summer signings Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall, both 18, started again in Hungary, while there was a debut for another Spurs' academy graduate, 19-year-old forward Will Lankshear.

It was Moore, though, who most impressed, playing a part in the build up to the goals from Pape Matar Sarr and substitute Brennan Johnson in each half and laying on a glorious opportunity for Timo Werner at 1-0.

Postecoglou believes the winger is a special talent but is wary of being cautious with developing all his teenager starlets.

Mikey Moore was hugely impressive as Spurs battled to victory in Hungary

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"How many 17-year-olds are playing in the Premier League? Yeah, [Spain and Barcelona winger Lamine] Yamal is brilliant but it's not a common thing," the Spurs head coach said.

"It's still pretty rare because you have to take into account, not just their physical maturity at 17 of being able to handle it, their emotional maturity, you've got to be really careful.

"There are always exceptions to the rule and Yamal is certainly one of them, but if you look at the Premier League, how many 17-year-olds are actually contributing?

“Mikey is already to is, which shows that he's got something special, but we've just got to be really careful about how we develop that.

"I think because it's too easy just to say, oh, you know, he's a great young player just throw him in there, especially in the Premier League because of all the leagues probably in Europe, it's the most physically challenging.

“So young players, the first thing I want to see is can they handle it and to be fair, Mike handles it pretty well, and certainly Archie and Lucas have that, but we've got to be careful with them.

"But at the same time, we've brought some really talented young players to the club and part of my pitch to them was that we will develop them and they will play and it's my responsibility to make sure they do that.

“I can't shy away from that because the next 18 or 17-year-old who I sign will point to recent experience. So it's important we give them the game time they deserve."

Johnson scored for a fifth game running to continue his hot-streak, while Barnabas Varga pulled back a goal for the hosts in the 90th-minute.

"It was always curious to me why people were singling him [Johnson] out because if you compare him to other wingers in the league, his numbers always stacked up anyway and now he has probably bypassed all of them," Postecoglou said.

"I had no doubt he would make a massive impact for us. Now he is making not just an impact but changing games for us. Again, still a young guy, still working hard and wants to learn, so that's great for us."