Mauricio Pochettino reacts to Oliver Skipp’s full Spurs debut

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Oliver Skipp found himself in the Tottenham Hotspur starting lineup for the first time ahead of their latest Premier League clash.

In comments reported by the London Evening Standard, Mauricio Pochettino has suggested that he was so proud of Oliver Skipp after the youngster made his full Tottenham debut on Saturday.

Skipp’s name was a surprise inclusion on the teamsheet ahead of Spurs’ clash with Burnley at Wembley. It was a narrow win for the home side as Christian Eriksen bagged the only goal in stoppage-time, but the 18-year-old looked impressive.

He seemed to grow into the game, but always looked more than comfortable in the midfield alongside Moussa Sissoko and Dele Alli. Skipp also looked more than happy to provide cover for the defence.

And after the full-time whistle, Pochettino seemed to hint that he could not have been happier with the youngster’s performance on a difficult day for Spurs.

“He played like a 30 year old man. So relaxed, trying to play forward and give the team what the team needs, plenty of energy. I am so proud of him,” he said, as reported by the London Evening Standard.

Skipp found a teammate with 46 of his 54 passes, according to Whoscored. Only four members of the starting lineup boasted a better passing success rate than the teenager, while he also won both of the challenges he contested.

He is clearly still developing, but Skipp vindicated Pochettino’s decision to throw him in and must now stand a fantastic chance of featuring a few more times over the busy festive period.