Highly-rated Spurs teenager grateful for what Jose Mourinho has said to him

Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Oliver Skipp has praised Jose Mourinho’s kind words towards him prior to the suspension of English football, saying they were a “boost”.

The 19-year-old is one of the Tottenham academy’s brightest prospects and made his first starts under Mourinho in the March games against Burnley and Norwich.

Although Spurs were knocked out of the FA Cup by the Canaries in display with few positives, the Portuguese was very complimentary of Skipp’s performance after the match.

“Phenomenal. Very, very good. Very, very good, solid performance,” he said when asked by football.london about Skipp’s display.

“Even with the yellow card, I kept him for two hours, first of all because Winks was in trouble, secondly because he was so solid, so mature, so confident that I was never afraid of a second yellow card coming.”

The Spurs media team caught up with Skipp after the Premier League announced a return to small group training last week and the player spoke about what Mourinho said.

“I’d worked hard to get an opportunity and I was determined to make the most of it,” he said.

“To hear those positive words… it was a boost every player always needs. We’ll have to see what happens now. All I can do is keeping working hard.”

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Skipp is undoubtedly a talented, hard-working player, and Mourinho – a manager well known for his high standards – reportedly being such a big fan and tipping him for a big future is testament to the midfielder’s credentials.

Indeed, Pochettino was also very complimentary of Skipp – in December 2018, the Argentine told the Spurs website: “He’s a proper midfielder, a very talented midfielder.

“He links the game well, always looking forward, very aggressive, his energy is amazing and he’s such a clever guy off the pitch as well as on it, that’s so important for the team. He’s a top player and a top kid and I’m sure he will have a very successful career.”

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