Postecoglou downplays Neymar comparisons with Spurs star ‘ready for Premier League debut’
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Postecoglou downplays Neymar comparisons with Spurs star ‘ready for Premier League debut’

Ange Postecoglou is confident Tottenham teenager Mikey Moore will keep his feet on the ground and not buy a Ferrari after comparisons to Neymar.

Moore made only his second Spurs start in Thursday’s 1-0 win over AZ Alkmaar and after he again caught the eye, team-mate James Maddison made reference to how Brazil international Neymar was playing on the wing.

With Son Heung-min still not 100 per cent after reporting muscle soreness earlier this week, Moore is in contention to make his full Premier League debut against Crystal Palace, but Postecoglou does not expect the hype to go to 17- yearling’s head.

“Just to be clear, I didn’t call Mikey, Neymar,” Spurs boss Postecoglou said with a smile.

“I think you’ll find that my demeanor around Mikey will be the same today as it was yesterday and that’s what he expects.

“The best indicator is the person himself and I have a feeling that won’t affect Mikey. I don’t think we’ll see him arrive with a different hair color or a Ferrari. He can’t drive! I think he will to be good.

“I think Mikey just wants to be Mikey and like I said after the game, what I see with him is he’s very mature for a 17-year-old, he handles things really well.

“Sometimes young players are exciting but you can see pitfalls along the way, but I don’t see that with him. At 17, what do you think he’s going to be like at 21 and hopefully I’m a manager by then!”

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Postecoglou was dubious about whether Moore would start a second consecutive game with reference to the Selhurst Park trip on Sunday, but has limited options.

Richarlison and Wilson Odobert have just returned from injury, while Timo Werner, who was replaced when Son was out for three weeks with a hamstring problem, has failed to score in his last 16 games for Tottenham.

On Moore, Postecoglou added: “I think he’s ready to start a Premier League game, for sure.

“For us, what we want to do is continue to develop Mikey in the right way and give him a platform to continue to improve. So far, whatever we’ve asked of him, he’s made a real impact and the plan is to continue to do the.

“He’s one of the options (against Palace). Again, two games in a week, the biggest concern I have for him is physical more than anything else.

“He’s still growing, his body is still adapting to this level, so to ask to play two games in a short space of time, I’d be cautious about that, but we’ll have a look at how the team shapes up.”

The rise of Moore has delighted Tottenham fans, who have given him the ‘he’s one of our own’ chant, which had belonged to Harry Kane before his departure to Bayern Munich in 2023.

Postecoglou revealed there could be more to come from Spurs’ academy, with Luca Williams-Barnett an exciting prospect in the Under-18s.

“When we brought Mikey up last year and he played a couple of times in the U21s, he stood out,” Postecoglou explained.

“(Academy manager) Simon Davies and the guys in the academy were really strong about his potential, the way he trains, his behaviour. As soon as he got into the training environment he showed no fear.

“In pre-season he was always a standout for us. There are a few others in there. A few young lads starting to break through, some a bit younger in the 15-16 age group.

“If you go through a successful period, it’s more sustainable if you have players at the club who come through.”