The Tottenham Hotspur prospect might struggle from here on in.
Mauricio Pochettino’s departure from Tottenham Hotspur earlier this season was bad news for quite a few young players.
The Argentine had spent five years in North London and often gave the club’s youth prospects a chance in the senior side when they deserved it.
And then Tottenham hired Jose Mourinho, a head coach famous for playing tried-and-tested stars and not putting a great deal of emphasis on developing the next generation.
Nineteen-year-old Oliver Skipp has been considered one of the North Londoners’ biggest talents in recent years, and The Guardian, in 2017, named him as the club’s next big thing.
Pochettino leaving Tottenham was a bad thing for the teenage midfielder, but things could be about to get worse.
According to Sky Sports, defensive midfield is a position that Mourinho wants to strengthen when the transfer window opens.
And it doesn’t look good for Skipp if Mourinho would rather sign an outright replacement for Victor Wanyama rather than promote from within.
If the Portuguese had long-term plans for the teen then maybe, just maybe, he’d give him the chance to prove himself.
Considering the Lilywhites already have Gedson Fernandes [on loan], Moussa Sissoko, Harry Winks, Tanguy Ndombele and Eric Dier, Skipp is in trouble if Mourinho signs yet another midfielder.
Skipp, who turns 20 in September, can play a holding role and centre-midfield, but if he had a future in either position under Mourinho then he’d be rising, not slipping down the pecking order.
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