Sporting Lisbon coach Ruben Amorim insists he does not ‘care’ about reports linking Marcus Edwards with a return to Premier League outfit Tottenham Hotspur, speaking to Mais Futebol.
You could have wrapped up the Puskas Award, slapped a bow on top of it and mailed it to Lisbon.
Only a point-blank Hugo Lloris save denied Edwards what would have been one of the finest solo goals ever seen in the Champions League; the Enfield-born forward scything through the Spurs defence, wriggling past three, four, even five challenges while reminding everyone why Mauricio Pochettino once felt it appropriate to compare a teenage Edwards with a young Lionel Messi.
Could Tottenham Hotspur bring Marcus Edwards back from Sporting Lisbon?
“That’s the type of player he is. He plays with so much freedom and so much joy,” former Spurs team-mate Paris Maghoma told ESPN, not at all surprised to see a player he knows better than most take a game by the scruff of the neck and aim for something special.
“It was just a known thing that Marcus is a ‘mini Messi’. He just plays like him. The same was Messi is like Maradona, Marcus is like Messi.
“I personally believe he could be one of the best players England has ever seen, and that’s me being honest. I get slated for this for calling him the best player ever. But I genuinely think he is the best player ever that I have ever seen.
“If he keeps going, there’s no saying he can’t be nominated for a Ballon d’Or.”
According to Record, Tottenham are already weighing up the prospect of bringing 23-year-old Edwards back to the club he left for Vitoria Guimaraes in the summer of 2019, following an ill-fated loan spell at Norwich City.
Not that Amorim is losing much sleep. Speculation, as Amorim found out when Aston Villa and Wolves were looking for a new head coach recently, goes hand-in-hand with personal success.
‘Nothing worries me’
“I don’t care. (Speculation) is part of (football). After the summer, nothing worries me anymore,” says Amorim.
“We will be more and more prepared for the departure of players. He has his release clause, his value. It’s not a matter for me. For me, it’s about preparing all the players in the squad and the future of Sporting.
“I don’t care that they are coveted, it’s normal. Marcus, especially in the Champions League, was very good. He is an English player and that can affect the market, but I don’t see (his departure) happening easily.”
Edwards has a £52 million release clause in his contract. The fleet-footed forward has seven goals and six assists in all competitions this season; thriving out wide on the right or through the middle as a ‘false nine’.
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