Tottenham should give Marcus Edwards more playing time

The Tottenham starlet deserves more opportunities

Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino has a tough, but pleasant problem on his hands. Spurs starlet Marcus Edwards is ready for more playing time, but it’s going to be tough for him to break into the club’s talented attacking midfield.

Edwards made his first senior appearance for Spurs in yesterday’s 5-0 thrashing of Gillingham. His first taste of senior football has only left him hungry for more chances to impress the Tottenham faithful. The question now becomes when fans might see the diminutive midfielder again.

Unfortunately, it might be a while. Edwards is a terrific talent who might have more potential than anyone else at the club. The trouble is that he’s still only 17-years-old and he lacks the physical maturity to thrive as a Premier League starter. That does not mean there isn’t a valuable role for him this season though.

My suggestion would be for Pochettino to think of Edwards as a super sub for the rest of the season. His body isn’t ready for the pounding of a full 90 minutes, but he could be hugely influential in short 20 minute bursts.

Leaving him to toil in the U23 matches for the rest of the season would just be a waste. He’s already proven that he is more than capable of dominating that level of competition. There’s nothing left for him to prove playing against kids.

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The challenge for Pochettino is that including Edwards in his matchday squad is going to leave a much more accomplished player on the bench. Right now, it’s unreasonable to think he’s going to move ahead of Dele Alli, Christian Eriksen, Son Heung-Min, Erik Lamela or Moussa Sissoko in the midfield pecking order.

He does, however, deserve to play ahead of the likes of Tom Carroll and Georges-Kevin N’Koudou at the moment. They may have bigger reputations, but Edwards’ upside makes him a smarter choice than Carroll, and his ability to speak English gives him a clear edge over N’Koudou.

Edwards’ real competition in the midfield is Josh Onomah. He played the full 90 minutes yesterday and scored his first senior goal for the club. The young Englishman also showed off the intense work rate that has him in such good favor with his manager.

Marcus Edwards deserves more opportunities at Tottenham, but they’re going to be awfully hard for him to come by. He may be the victim of the club’s talented attacking midfield for the majority of the season.