Ange Postecoglou likes the fact that Oliver Skipp decided to be a part of Tottenham’s Asia-Pacific tour despite his involvement in the European Under-21 championship in the summer.
Spurs had two players involved in the tournament in Destiny Udogie and Skipp, but while the left-back got a fairly long break owing to Italy’s elimination in the group stage of the competition, the Young Lions went all the way in the tournament, being crowned champions.
(Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
Instead of taking a break, Skipp decided to report from pre-season training along with the rest of the internationals and the 22-year-old was handed a start against West Ham United last week in the club’s first pre-season friendly.
Curiously, the Tottenham academy graduate played as one of the two number-eights, with Yves Bissouma operating as the number six in front of the back four. The same happened again when Skipp came off the bench against Lion City Sailors today.
Skipp is in Postecoglou’s good books at Tottenham
It remains to be seen what role Skipp will play during the upcoming season but Postecoglou confirmed that the midfielder is certainly part of his plans.
When asked about the youngster, the Australian told Football.London: “He’s part of my plans absolutely.
“We gave him the option (of taking a longer break after the European Under-21 Championship) and it’s fair to say with a tournament and him being successful, you want him to enjoy that.
“We did leave it in his corner. I was more than prepared for him to miss this part of the trip but in the back of my mind, I did like his decision.”
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Tottenham will likely sign another midfielder if Hojbjerg leaves. So when Bentancur is fit, Skipp might struggle to force himself into the side. So, the 22-year-old has to grab his opportunities at the start of the season and prove his worth to Postecoglou.
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