Football news: Marcus Edwards, a recent graduate of the Tottenham Hotspur system, will face Sporting Clube de Portugal in a Champions League rematch with the intention of making his former team regret their performance.
The north Londoners defeated Marseille to start their latest foray into Europe’s top league, and now head to Portugal for their second group game.
However, when facing the Portuguese runners-up from last season, their task becomes noticeably more challenging. Given Edwards’ recent success in Portugal, one of the main threats they will be keeping an eye on is the young player.
In light of this, we’ll take a careful look at the former Spurs prospect to determine how much of a threat he could pose to his former employers at José Alvalade Stadium.
Who is Marcus Edwards?
Winger Edwards, 23, was born in Enfield, London. At the age of eight he began his football training at the Spurs academy. In 2016, he signed his first professional contract with the North London team.
Edwards has frequently played on the right side of midfield throughout his young career, but is also comfortable on the left or center. So far, he has shown expert ball-handling skills, routinely using his speed and cunning to get past opponents.
How has it been so far?
Since Edwards has only had one senior appearance for the Spurs during his time with the team, he frequently looks elsewhere for opportunities. In 2018 he signed a loan deal with Norwich City, then in the Championship, but after just one appearance, for ‘personal reasons’, he left for Tottenham.
Following another loan spell with Excelsior from the Netherlands, Edwards permanently left Spurs to join Portugal’s Vitoria de Guimaraes. He immediately attracted attention thanks to his nine goals in all competitions in his rookie season.
Edwards had a less consistent second season after that before returning to his former form in January 2022. Since then, he has continued to show promise and is off to a solid start to the new season at Sporting.
Edwards has played for the Three Lions between the under-16 and under-20 age levels and is qualified to play for the England and Cyprus national teams.
What has been said?
After comparing Edwards to Argentine legend Lionel Messi, former Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino has made no secret of his enthusiasm for Edwards.
He stated: “His qualities, his appearance, his body and his way of playing, are somewhat reminiscent of the beginnings of Messi”, when he lived in north London.
Ruben Amorim, the young winger’s current manager, has supported him to play for the senior England team should his current run continue.
“Marcus is incredibly talented,” he said during his pregame news conference. He is one of the most important players in the execution of plays outside the lines. It took him some time to get used to the Portuguese culture.
He is incredibly talented and has the potential to join the English national team by improving significantly. He should pay more attention to his training and all that goes with it.
Soccer is everything that happens before, during and after games. You have my full trust. He still has a long way to go, but I think we did very well by signing him.
