Interesting article on Edwards here. Not sure it teaches us anything we didn’t know, but reinforces some of the things we’ve heard before. It begins to sound to me like he’s got emotional or social issues. Almost aspergerish even? Maybe that’s pushing it too far?
Google translated from Dutch.
He was once compared to Messi, now he plays at Excelsior
Marcus Edwards The English super talent Marcus Edwards (19) was called 'Mini Messi' at Tottenham Hotspur. Now he plays on loan at Excelsior.
Marcus Edwards , at the ball for Excelsior during the match against FC Groningen. Photo ANP Pro Shots
Once a great future was predicted in England. "The boy who could conquer the world," said Tottenham Hotspur coach Mauricio Pochettino. Now Marcus Edwards has to prove himself here at the Van Donge & De Roo Stadium on a Friday evening in the Rotterdam Kralingen against FC Groningen. Nineteen years old, he is the left-footed right-hander of Excelsior, who rents him from the Spurs. Maturing in the premier league is the plan to give a boost to his faltering career.
He is the smallest of the field, with his 1.76 meters. His football shorts almost reach his knees. He has a striking step, with small, bright, measured passes. He is fast, light, agile. A born dribbler. When he comes to the ball, something always happens. Then he slaloms from nothing just past two men. To just as easily lose the ball again.
Since his eighth at the Spurs
Edwards is from Camden, a district in North London. When he was eight, he came to the youth academy of Tottenham Hotspur, the English top club. He attended all national youth teams in England and was among the selection of the nineteen who became European champion in the summer of 2017. Super talent, destined for the summit.
In September 2016, Spurs coach Pochettino said that Edwards - then seventeen - "reminded" him of Lionel Messi in his early years. He was referring to the similar playing style - the dribbles, the ball treatment, the way of moving. And: the length and left foot. At the Spurs press department, they were not happy with those words, wrote The Guardian : the fear was that too much pressure was put on Edwards by the comparison with one of the best players ever.
Marcus Edwards with some of his Excelsior teammates. Photo ANP Pro Shots
Pochettino, an Argentinian, told in the run-up to the debut of Edwards against Gillingham, in the League Cup. Fifteen minutes before the end of September he was brought in on White Hart Lane for the Dutch striker Vincent Janssen. He immediately impressed.
His nickname at Tottenham was already 'Mini Messi'. Of importance, in the sense of nuance: Pochettino did not say that Edwards would become the new Messi.
In his book Brave New World: Inside Pochettino's Spurs , from autumn 2017, the coach wonders whether it was wise to make the comparison with Messi. Edwards is not nearly as far away as Messi was at that age and the English promise is hard to live as a pro, writes Pochettino.
"He has authority and behavior problems, we have to look at the bigger picture and find out what the cause is."
Pochettino, also in the book: "The reason I said that he is 'our Messi' is because Leo is the goal." He hopes that Edwards himself will have the conviction that he can become a top player in the long run.
The breakthrough at the Spurs, which will receive PSV in the Champions League on Tuesday-evening, remained the last two seasons, partly due to an ankle injury. In January of this year he was leased to Norwich City, a club in the Championship, the second professional level.
After three months and only six minutes of playing time, the rent was canceled due to 'personal reasons'. Edwards regularly came late to training and team discussions, wrote The Telegraph .
Introverted boy
Now he is at Excelsior, in the middle of the premier league. He is very introverted, they notice at the club. He is not a talker, does not make contact quickly, that's how it sounds.
It is one of the reasons why Tottenham thought it important that he be leased outside England, says managing director Ferry de Haan. "Not only in the field of football, but also in the social field, that would hopefully be a good development for Marcus." Apart from being a football player, they also want to take him further "as a person", he says.
In the lee of Excelsior, one of the smallest and quietest clubs in the Dutch league, he can get the personal attention he needs. De Haan: "We talk a lot with him, try to make him feel at ease."
The fact that young, technical players in the Dutch league have the time and space to develop themselves also participated in the Spurs' choice to store Edwards here in the Netherlands. Excelsior had been on a list for a long time and was tipped last summer by the Football Mix agency of the Humphrey Nijman agent that rent was an option. They also brokered the lease contract.
A hint of Messi is sometimes visible when you see Edwards playing. He was already in the 'Eleven of the Week', a section of Voetbal International . Sometimes he is inimitable, but often also invisible. Against Groningen (2-4 losses), he provides most of the threat and opportunity in the initial phase, but he does not score.
Insufficient yield
His return is still insufficient, with one assist in nine games. "In the last phase he usually loses the overview", says teammate Mounir El Hamdaoui. He has to become brighter, to claim more, according to El Hamdaoui. "Very often he is a bit drowsy, which is apathetic."
Edwards plays a bit like a junior, El Hamdaoui agrees. "If he has the ball he will dribble and he will see where it is stranding, there is no real idea behind it."
El Hamdaoui: "He has to become more mature. Occasionally you have to vary, which is firmer to the ball, hit once and choose the depth. It only starts with him when he has the ball. "
Friday after the match, Edwards does not want to speak to the press, although the team manager and the club spokesman in the locker room have talked to him to do it anyway. But he has "no sense", is the announcement. This would be partly due to experiences with the media in his homeland.
Always on time
It is a "challenge" to get through to him says Excelsior coach Adrie Poldervaart. They do not notice anything of discipline problems like at Norwich City. "He has to be there at half past nine, he is always on time."
According to El Hamdaoui, Edwards suffers from homesickness. "As a young boy in a different culture, in another country, it is difficult to adapt quickly. We try to involve him in the group in everything. "The homesickness also explains why he is so quiet, El Hamdaoui thinks. His father regularly comes to Rotterdam to support him.
Poldervaart: "He is only nineteen years old, you should not forget that."