Hugo Lloris praises former Tottenham Hotspur academy starlet Marcus Edwards after Sporting CP defeat

Tottenham Hotspur captain Hugo Lloris gave his verdict on Marcus Edwards after the ex-Spurs academy player impressed in his team’s 2-0 win at the Estadio Jose Alvalade on Tuesday night.

Edwards was at Spurs’ academy until the summer of 2019, when he left to join Vitoria de Guimaraes in Portugal. He only made one senior appearance for the Lilywhites, which came under manager Mauricio Pochettino.

The Englishman came on as a substitute for the last 15 minutes in Spurs’ 5-0 EFL Cup third-round win against Gillingham in the 2016-17 season. That was the only time he got to represent Spurs at the senior level.

But on his return against his former side, the 23-year-old showed Tottenham what they were missing out on. He created a couple of goal-scoring chances in the first half, which included a brilliant run that ultimately culminated in a superb save from Lloris.

Speaking after the game, Lloris, who has been at the club since 2012, praised the ‘mature’ Sporting winger. He said (h/t Football.London):

“Yeah [he’s blossomed]. He’s more mature. He’s 23 years old now. It was the same quality that we could see a few years ago when he trained with the first team.”

“He has the profile to play in that type of team, in that type of league, but obviously if he continues in the same way, he will have a bright future.”

Edwards’ dribbling skills and ability to make things happen in the final third was a constant threat for us in the game. Sporting eventually made Antonio Conte’s team for all their missed chances in the game after they scored two late goals to win the game.

Manager Ruben Amorim has a real gem on his hands in the form of Edwards. He has been equally impressive with the Leoes since joining them in January 2022 and has six goals and six assists in 23 games for them across all competitions.

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But now that he has played in the UCL against a ‘big six’ team like Spurs, one can expect his hype to increase a bit moving forward.