Tottenham Hotspur are in line for a Champions League reunion against Sporting Clube de Portugal with academy graduate Marcus Edwards aiming to inflict regret on his former side.
The North Londoners travel to Portugal for their second group game having got their latest venture into Europe’s premier competition off to the best possible start with victory over French side Marseille.
However, their assignment now gets considerably more difficult as they take on last season’s Portuguese runners up. One of the main threats that they will be looking out for is Edwards with the youngster having sparkled in Portugal over the last few seasons.
With that being said, Mirror Sport takes a close look at the former Spurs prospect and how much of a threat he could be to his ex-employers at the José Alvalade Stadium.
Who is Marcus Edwards?
Edwards is a 23-year-old winger who was born in Enfield, London. He began his footballing education in the Spurs academy at the age of eight and ended up penning his first professional contract with the North London club in 2016.
Throughout his fledgling career, Edwards has regularly played on the right-side of midfield but is comfortable on the left or in the centre. He has shown an adept ability with the ball thus far, regularly calling on his pace and trickery to get past opponents.
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How has he done so far?
Having only been afforded one senior appearance for Spurs in his time with the club, Edwards has regularly looked elsewhere for opportunities. He joined Norwich City - then of the Championship - on-loan in 2018 but returned to Totte n ham for ‘personal reasons’ after just a solitary outing.
Another loan spell with Dutch side Excelsior followed before Edwards quit Spurs permanently for a move to Portuguese outfit Vitoria de Guimaraes. He immediately caught the eye with nine goals in all competitions in his debut campaign.
A less consistent second season followed before Edwards regained his previous form and by January 2022 had earned a move to Sporting and he has continued to display his potential since and has started the new season in extremely bright form.
Edwards is eligible to play for both the England and Cyprus national side and has represented the Three Lions between the under-16 and under-20 age groups.
What has been said?
Former Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino has done nothing to hide his admiration of Edwards having compared him to Argentine icon Lionel Messi.
Speaking during his spell in North London, he said: "His qualities, it's only looks, his body and the way that he plays, remember a little bit from the beginning of Messi."
Meanwhile, current boss Ruben Amorim has backed the young winger to play for the England senior team should he continue on his current trajectory. Speaking in his press conference ahead of the match, he said: “Marcus is very talented. He’s one of the best players in playing between the lines. He took a little while to adapt to the Portuguese lifestyle.
“He has all of the talent and he can get much better and get to the English national team. He has to focus more on training and all that is around it.
“Football is not just the matches, it’s everything in between. I trust him a lot. He has a lot way to go but I think we did excellent business in signing him.”
