Tottenham Hotspur welcome Norwich City to north London this evening ahead of their fifth-round FA Cup clash. Jose Mourinho’s side have not won in their last three matches, and although the Portuguese boss made some snide remarks, suggesting fans: “Don’t even know” what Troy Parrot looks like, he should give Spurs fans a greater glimpse this evening.
With both Harry Kane and Heung min-Son absent, there have been suggestions Parrott could start. But defiant as ever, Mourinho has insisted he will not be introduced from the off against the Canaries. However, what the manager must not do is a repeat of their Wolverhampton Wanderers defeat at the weekend, where the Irishman was introduced with one-minute remaining. It is almost impossible for the 19-year-old striker to exert any influence on proceedings in that period and he must be given a more significant opportunity against Norwich City.
His record as a youth player at an international and domestic level is incredibly impressive, having scored 11 times in 17 appearances between the Republic of Ireland’s U17 and U21 sides, along with 11 goals in seven appearances for Spurs’ U23’s. Those outstanding performances led to the teenager making his international debut, but the Republic of Ireland manager Mick McCarthy suggested he will not be picking the player again unless he plays more regularly at club level.
Meanwhile in Norwich, Teemu Pukki has stolen the limelight, especially earlier on in the season, for his glittering performances in front of goal. But the Canaries have an Irish striking sensation of their own in Adam Idah who shot to prominence after he scored an FA Cup hat-trick in the third round against Preston North End to secure Daniel Farke’s sides first win in the competition since 2013.
Pukki is a doubt for the clash with Spurs after contracting an illness and Idah should be thrust into the starting XI once more as he could produce some FA Cup magic for the side who currently sit bottom of the Premier League. His record at youth level this term has not been quite as prolific as Parrott, scoring one in six in the Premier League 2, but he has already shown he can provide the goods when it matters most.
