Tottenham want to bring Marcus Edwards back to solve key squad issue
As they work to stay on top of their homegrown problems, Tottenham Hotspur are keeping an eye on the situation with Marcus Edwards (h/t Football.London), one of their prominent academy graduates in recent years.
The 25-year-old departed the Spurs five years ago, failing to live up to the enormous potential that led then-manager Mauricio Pochettino to compare him to Lionel Messi.
The winger on Ruben Amorim’s dynamic young team in Lisbon became one of the main offensive players. Edwards contributed 26 goal involvements in 51 games during his first full season with Sporting, including 12 goals and 14 assists.
Edwards could solve Spurs’ key issue
The key reason for Edward’s return to Tottenham is the club’s current position with their homegrown players, especially concerning their next Europa League squad’s shortage of “club-trained” players.
In European football, UEFA mandates that eight of a club’s 25 squad spots must be reserved for “locally trained players.” Of these, four must be association-trained and the other four club-trained.
Following the departures of Harry Kane and Harry Winks last summer, Tottenham’s only senior club-trained players are Brandon Austin, Alfie Whiteman, Oliver Skipp, Troy Parrott, and Japhet Tanganga.
While Austin has recently secured a new contract, the future of the other players remains uncertain. Tanganga and Parrott are likely to be sold this summer, Skipp may go out on loan, and Whiteman’s status is unclear following Austin’s contract extension.
Edward’s return would help Tottenham meet the club-trained player requirement for their Europa League squad, ensuring compliance with UEFA regulations and strengthening the team’s depth.
Promoting young academy starlets into these positions could be a solution, but it would be inefficient, as those players are already on the supplementary B list for academy youngsters.
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Edward may thus prove to be a valuable alternative in the end, but much will depend on the fate of these club-trained youngsters and the pursuit of more costly, high-profile wingers Tottenham is targeting this summer.
The 25-year-old has made no secret of his desire to return to England at some point. It is clear that he would be happy with a return to his childhood club, but there are other teams in the race for his services, including Crystal Palace.
