Dane Scarlett has a very good chance of making Nuno Espirito Santo’s first competitive matchday squad when Tottenham Hotspur host Manchester City, per football.london.
Spurs lift the curtain on the new Premier League campaign at home to the defending title-holders on Sunday. The Citizens’ north London visit will be Nuno’s first competitive game in charge since succeeding Jose Mourinho over the summer.
Scarlett has featured prominently in Nuno’s initial plans at Tottenham over the course of the club’s pre-season friendlies. He also scored the first goal of the Nuno-era in a 1-1 draw with Leyton Orient, while featuring against Colchester, MK Dons, Chelsea and Arsenal.
Nuno is now very likely to list Scarlett in the Tottenham squad to face Manchester City on Sunday. His inclusion is irrespective of whether Harry Kane features, after Nuno confirmed the wantaway striker is available, via Sky Sports.
The Premier League allowing nine substitutes – up from seven – again next season boosted Scarlett’s chances of making the matchday squad. Mourinho handed the 17-year-old his first-team debut last November during a Europa League group stage win over Ludogorets.
Scarlett followed his brief cameo against the Bulgarian outfit with run outs against West Brom and Wolfsberger. Although he has only featured for a combined 17 minutes over his three competitive senior appearances, while making seven outings as an unused substitute.
Will Nuno polish Mourinho’s Tottenham diamond Scarlett?
Mourinho was full of praise for Scarlett before Tottenham Chairman Daniel Levy fired the Portuguese tactician in April. Now, Nuno looks set to finish polishing off the edges to his compatriots’ rough diamond, starting Sunday against Manchester City.
“He is a diamond. A kid with incredible potential,” Mourinho told BT Sport after Scarlett featured against Wolfsberger in February. “He is going to be a fantastic player and I hope everything around him goes well. He is a striker, a number nine, I have been playing him from the sides similar to Marcus Rashford and he is very clever.”
But Mourinho’s departure slowed Scarlett’s progress at Tottenham, and Nuno will want to now start picking it back up. Interim coach Ryan Mason only named the Spurs academy product on the bench once during his seven-game spell in charge.
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