Bright Start For Tottenham Teenager
Tottenham manager Roberto De Zerbi believes 18 year old Luca Williams Barnett is ready to start matches for the first team. The highly rated youngster caught the eye during a late substitute appearance in Saturday's 2-0 win over Crystal Palace.
He came off the bench and produced a fine moment by dribbling past three opposing players. That action demonstrated why people at the club have been excited about him for a long time. The match against Palace was his first appearance in the Premier League. It was also his second game of the entire campaign, following a short cameo against Charlton in the Carabao Cup.
Prepared For A Full Debut
Tottenham travel to face Leeds on Saturday, and De Zerbi feels the teenager is fully prepared to play from the beginning. The manager revealed that he even thought about putting him in the starting line up against Chelsea last month.
De Zerbi insists that age is not an issue when selecting his team. He stated that the main factors are quality, personality, and behaviour on the pitch. According to the manager, the young player possesses all of these needed qualities.
He also noted that the player's ability was obvious right away during preseason. De Zerbi said you can recognise special talent immediately without the player needing to do anything extra.
Learning From Senior Teammates
Managing such strong young talent brings extra duty. De Zerbi explained that taking care of big talents like Williams Barnett creates a bigger responsibility for him as a manager.
He wants the teenager to focus on enjoying his game while following the lead of senior players in the team. De Zerbi pointed to experienced players such as Andy Robertson, James Maddison, and Ben Davies as the right role models for him to learn from.
De Zerbi stressed that choosing to start the teenager does not depend on the match result. He believes the player is ready, and it is simply a matter of picking the right moment for him and the team.
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