Meet the exciting Spurs teenager bringing back old-school wing play

Tottenham Hotspur’s loss to Manchester City at the end of last season will live long in the memory, for a variety of reasons. For Ange Postecoglou, it proved to be his “worst experience” as a manager. For the Spurs supporters, it was the trigger of an almost existential crisis: many of them wanted their own team to lose, to prevent Arsenal from winning the title.

Few matches in Premier League history have been loaded with such an unusual emotional weight, and it is evidently not an occasion that Postecoglou and his players will reflect upon fondly. One suspects that, if he could, the Spurs head coach would happily erase all memories of it from his mind.

There was, however, one aspect of the evening that will be recalled far more positively at Spurs: the debut, in stoppage time, of Mikey Moore. At the age of 16 years, nine months and three days, the winger became the youngest player to appear for the club in the Premier League.

Was this moment, this first glimpse of Moore on the senior stage, a significant one for the club? As it stands, it is little more than a footnote. But that might yet change if Moore is able to fulfil his enormous potential. Over time, if Moore can justify the excitement around him, that City defeat might even come to be remembered more for him than for everything else.

“It felt like I was playing Fifa,” he said afterwards. “It was mad. It’s probably the best feeling I’ve ever had. I was asking the ref how long to go because as soon as I came on I wanted it to keep going.”

On Thursday night, in a Hungarian downpour, Moore took another major step forward in his young career. Now 17, he made his first start for Spurs in a 2-1 victory over Ferencvaros. His socks rolled down low and the ball seemingly glued to his foot, the young winger excelled in treacherous conditions. After just a few minutes, the Ferencvaros defenders had already resorted to kicking him instead of the ball.

Managers of exciting teenage talents usually attempt to keep a lid on the hype that surrounds them. It was striking, then, to hear Postecoglou speak quite so glowingly about Moore’s performance after the game.

“I thought he was outstanding,” said Postecoglou. “It’s brilliant for a 17-year-old to play 90 minutes in a European away tie. He just handled it superbly. I kind of knew he would.”

Asked what he likes so much about Moore, the Spurs head coach added: “It’s his ability to deal with pressure and keep the ball in really tight areas, and making really good clean decisions for a young guy.

“He has got so much growth still, but the good thing is he wants to learn, he wants to develop. I couldn’t be happier for him, but also pretty pleased that he’s part of our football club. He has got something special.”

Within the football industry, Moore’s talent has been known for some time. At an under-17 match in March 2023, a scout told Telegraph Sport that every big club in the country was watching the dribbling dynamo in Tottenham’s youth ranks. Moore was 15 at the time, playing a year above his age group, and during that game it was dazzlingly obvious that he was on a different level to the others on the pitch.

A few weeks later, Moore starred in the under-17 Premier League Cup final against Nottingham Forest. In a 5-1 win he scored twice, including a brilliant individual effort. That was the moment the wider world started to become aware that Spurs had a truly thrilling attacking talent on their hands.

Born in south London, Moore was only seven years old when he first joined the Spurs academy. He has climbed through the ranks at a rapid pace, and has been a regular for England at youth level. After that debut against City, he was part of the first team’s pre-season tour this summer. Alongside the senior players, he shone.

Clearly, he has earned the affection of those international stars. “A great kid,” said James Maddison. “A really well-mannered, polite young man and that’s a credit to his parents. I have to sometimes pinch myself and remember how young he is. He’s 17 and he came into the group when he was 16. He’s a man already.”

Moore has been especially keen to learn from captain Son Heung-min, who plays in the same position. “Mikey is coming to me and asking questions,” said Son. “He’s a fantastic boy and then I am definitely sure that he can be a fantastic player. There is no doubt, because he has such amazing quality.

“As we always say about young players, let’s don’t give him too much pressure on his shoulders. Just let’s enjoy how he develops, how he improves every single day, every single season. As a fan, as supporters, we should just enjoy watching him and he will be, I think, one of the top players.

It is an indication of Moore’s age that, while he is now a first-team player (he has made four senior appearances this season) he still changes in the academy areas at the club’s training ground.

Crucially for Spurs, Moore is theirs for the foreseeable future. He committed to the club during the summer, amid serious interest from other teams in England and Europe, and then signed a professional contract as soon as he turned 17 in August.

With those low socks and his willingness to dribble at full-backs, there is an endearingly old-school quality to Moore’s game. Against Ferencvaros on Thursday, he looked to hurt the opposition defence every time he received the ball. Not all of the moves were successful, but Moore caused more problems for Ferencvaros than any Spurs player.

Of course, there are no guarantees that Moore will continue on such a steep trajectory. Who knows what potential set-backs and pitfalls might lie in wait. It is increasingly clear, though, that this is a young man of huge talent. In a Spurs team packed with other youngsters, working for a manager who trusts him, he seems to be in the right place for that talent to be nurtured.