Thierry Henry has claimed that Tottenham Hotspur ‘didn’t believe’ in Marcus Edwards after he left the club in 2019 making only one senior appearance.
The 23-year-old, who is now at Sporting Lisbon and scored against Spurs in the Champions League last month, was lauded by the Arsenal legend for his ‘interesting journey’ and how he has gone on to make a career for himself.
Over both legs that Edwards played against Spurs this season, he lived up to the hype that saw him once being compared to Lionel Messi by Mauricio Pochettino when he was a teenager.
For, one reason or another, he didn’t go down the same road as Harry Kane and become a key figure for the club.
Instead, he headed overseas and made a name for himself in Portugal, starting with Vitoria de Guimaraes, and he is now at the champions of Portugal.
Nonetheless, Henry touched upon Edwards’s rise after his early fall, including that Diego Maradona-like run he produced, which left the former striker ‘screaming’, as he told CBS Sports on Paramount+ (01/11/22 at 7:50 pm)
“He has had an interesting journey,” said Henry. “I like what he did. Usually, guys, from a certain area in England, tend to stay in and around the area when they are not being successful at that club.
“So, obviously they didn’t believe in him at Tottenham. He played against Gillingham, as well all know.
“But he went to Guimaraes, and I watched that game, I was like ‘Marcus Edwards, isn’t he the guy that was at Tottenham?’ Then it was him.
“From him being at Guimaraes, he went to Sporting, then next thing you know, that’s his first Champions League game, Frankfurt away, his first goal and first start in the Champions League. Then an assist. He has an eye for a pass. We saw what he did against Tottenham, at home. We all screamed, to be honest, because, what he did there, looked a bit like what Maradona did against England. Although he didn’t score.
“But I like what he did. He went to have a career instead of staying in and around the place. In and around London. He went to Guimaraes to have a career. Then we all know what he did scoring against Tottenham, like he did against Arsenal.”
SOMETIMES YOU NEED TO GO BACK TO GO FORWARD
Perhaps Edwards leaving Spurs was a blessing in disguise, perhaps he wouldn’t have developed as much as he has done if he stayed put.
Sometimes in life, you need to go backwards in order to move forward and the English winger has certainly done that.
Now it’s a case of continuing to climb the ladder and one day returning to England and proving his worth in the Premier League.
So far, he is making the right calls and noises in his career, which is a credit to himself and his maturity because it can be easy to collect the big wads of cash that are handed to young players in football.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
