Tottenham's young prodigy, Mikey Moore, has been included in Ange Postecoglou's first-team training sessions after impressing the coaching staff, according to football.london.
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The Spurs boss has made his feelings clear on the wonderkid by opting to keep him in his first-team sessions for a full week. At just 16 years old, Moore is highly respected within the football community and Tottenham managed to secure his commitment last summer, despite interest from other Premier League and European clubs. He signed a three-year deal with the North London club, which will transition into his first professional contract when he turns 17 in August.
Moore played a crucial role in Tottenham's U18s and U17s teams winning the Premier League Cups last season under Stuart Lewis' guidance. The versatile forward, who can play as a striker, winger or attacking midfielder, has had a mixed bag of fortunes since signing his deal. However, his stats for Tottenham's U18s are impressive, with 16 goals and nine assists in 14 games.
In the U18s Premier League, there was only one match this season where he didn't score or assist when available, and only two games where he didn't find the back of the net.
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Adding to his achievements, the creative youngster scored four goals and provided two assists for England's U17s in their European Championship qualifiers. However, his progress has been hampered by two significant injuries this season. Firstly, a broken leg sustained while on international duty and then an ankle ligament injury during a match with Lewis' young Spurs team.
These setbacks occurred just as the promising youngster was poised to step up to U21s football for Wayne Burnett's top-of-the-table side. Now fully recovered and scoring goals again this month, the young player has benefited from extended exposure to Postecoglou's first-team environment. Moore had previously spent several weeks this season training under the Australian after impressing the coaching staff, and it is claimed that the same scenario unfolded this week at Hotspur Way.
Spurs are currently in the middle of a two-week break before they face Arsenal in the north London derby next Sunday. Football.london reports that the teenager was invited to join training on Monday and, after impressing the coaches, ended up training with Son Heung-min and the rest of the team throughout the week.
Moore's development still has some way to go, with U21s football being the next step as he continues to challenge himself against older, stronger players. However, this latest development is another positive step in a difficult season filled with unexpected hurdles for the young player.
