It has been one of the main topics of conversation during Jose Mourinho’s press conferences of late. Just what on earth is happening with Troy Parrott?
The teenager has been conspicuously absent from the first-team despite injuries to the likes of Harry Kane and Heung-min Son in recent weeks. After all, when you’ve got a shortage of options up front, surely you turn towards the one player who knows the position, however young he is.
Instead, Mourinho has been incredibly reluctant to throw the 18-year-old into the fray for Spurs, insisting numerous times that he simply isn’t ready, and that he needs to be managed carefully. That would perhaps be understandable if the north London side had all their resources available, but at the moment, they could really do with a more natural striker up front.
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And on Sunday afternoon against Wolves, despite seeing his side go behind thanks to a strike from Raul Jimenez in the 73rd minute, Mourinho only opted to send on Parrott a minute into injury-time. Inevitably, the youngster had barely anytime to make an impact, and the Spurs boss would later reiterate in his post-match verdict that the Irishman isn’t ready.
At this point, it really does feel like the Portuguese man is cutting off the nose to spite the face. Rather than simply admit that he may have gotten his call all wrong, and that Parrott does indeed deserve a first-team opportunity now rather than later, he is prepared to accept the consequences of Spurs not having a recognised striker in their starting line-up.
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It points to a sense of ego and hubris that could ultimately back-fire on Spurs. Mourinho has never been one for being a long-term manager, seemingly always leaving after a couple of seasons at most. By destroying Parrott’s confidence and failing to give him a chance, he is risking alienating one of the club’s brightest young talents.
And all because he refuses to accept that he may be wrong. By putting Parrott on in the final moments, Mourinho could essentially sit back and know the youngster would find it incredibly hard to make his presence felt. Then he could trot out the old line of him not being ready. The Spurs boss’ eye-brow raising call on Sunday perfectly captured his worrying ego.
Meanwhile, this Spurs ace is enjoying an impressive season.