Ange Postecoglou saluted his four teenage starters after they helped Tottenham to a hard-fought 2-1 victory at Ferencvaros in the Europa League, but is not ready to dub them ‘Ange’s Angels’ yet.
Four players aged 19 or under were named in the Spurs line-up in Budapest with full debuts handed to academy graduates Mikey Moore and Will Lankshear, but the duo brushed off their inexperience to combine to set up Pape Sarr’s 23rd-minute opener.
Sarr scored amid a ferocious white-hot atmosphere at Groupama Arena and while Ferencvaros pushed the visitors, Tottenham substitute Brennan Johnson wrapped up the points with a smart finish in the 86th-minute to score for a fifth consecutive game.
All smiles for winning @europaleague nights ✨ pic.twitter.com/uvvk3vLNX5
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) October 3, 2024
Barnabas Varga reduced the deficit at the start of stoppage-time, but Postecoglou’s side, which had an average age of 23 after teenage pair Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall also started, held on.
Asked if his youngsters could be called Ange’s Angels in reference to the Busby Babes and Fergie’s Fledglings, Postecoglou laughed: “Nah, nah, nah, nah, you’ve got to do better than that. No, no chance.
“The first thing is that they’re part of our first team squad, not because I want some young players, it’s because they’ve earned that spot.
“Then it’s about how to help them develop and the moments we need to put them in there, the moments we need to hold off. And we can’t discount the fact that Archie is 18, Lucas is 18.
“I thought Archie was brilliant. We asked him to play in two different positions and it’s incredible how he just adjusts and he’s able to bring his game to wherever he put him.
“Lucas worked hard and Will was unlucky with a couple of moments when we could have got a goal.
“These guys are there because they’ve earned their spot but they’re an important part of our development.
“Whilst we want to be a team that has an impact this year, it’s like I said before, it’s important we’re developing players along the way so that whatever sort of period of potential for success or opportunity for success exists, it’s elongated because of the young players you got through.”
Moore has been a name on the lips of Tottenham fans for more than 12 months and in May become the club’s youngest player to appear in the Premier League when introduced late on against Manchester City.
The recently-turned 17-year-old has kicked on since with a strong pre-season followed by this first start, where his driving run helped create Sarr’s opener and the Spurs academy graduate produced a number of other decisive passes, including to set up Timo Werner for a golden second-half chance.
“I thought Mikey was outstanding. It’s brilliant for a 17-year-old to play 90-plus minutes in a European away tie,” Postecoglou reflected.
“He just handled it superbly, I kind of knew he would and I think it’ll help his growth as a footballer once you get through an experience like that.
“I think he’ll grow and evolve and I didn’t feel like I needed to take him off. He still looked strong at the end and was still contributing.
“If you look at the Premier League, how many 17-year-olds are actually contributing and Mikey is already, which shows that he’s got something special but we’ve just got to be really careful about how we develop that.”
While Pedro Porro and Johnson hit the post with the game at 1-0, the hosts’ did have the ball in the net after 16 minutes with the contest goalless but Varga was ruled to be offside from Eldar Civic’s cross, which left Ferencvaros boss Pascal Jansen unhappy.
“If I look at the game itself, I think we created enough moments and possibilities to score more goals against a very strong side,” Jansen said.
“Looking at the first goal which was disallowed, I am still guessing why but somehow they found a line which showed it was offside.”
Let's start our Daily Laugh today. Gyokeres, Sesko and Arsenal now Tottenham have made a bid worth £70 million for Mbeumo Inter Miami ready for FIFA Club World Cup "Arrogant" vs "Style" Guess who is he Only the real ones will understand this The top four loaned things in the world Please stay tuned on Daily Laugh. There will be more fun tomorrow!(Credit: Justtoonit, originaltrollfoot...
Inter Milan forward Mehdi Taremi will not be able to join his teammates at the Club World Cup in the United States as he is stuck in Tehran amid the escalating conflict between Iran and Israel.Flights from all Iranian airports have been grounded following an exchange of military strikes between Iran and Israel over the past two days.That meant the Iran international was unable to take his schedule...
WHAT HAPPENED?Manchester United have accelerated talks in the last two days as they target the signing of Eintracht Frankfurt striker Hugo Ekitike, according to a report by French outlet Foot Mercato. The Red Devils have reportedly intensified discussions with the player's agent and have made contact with the club regarding the potential terms of a deal for the Frenchman.THE BIGGER PICTUREA strike...
Viktor Gyokeres has snubbed a move to Manchester United, as per reports from Portugal.The Swedish forward was rumoured to be linking up with Old Trafford to join forces once more with ex-Sporting Lisbon gaffer Ruben Amorim. Record claims that Gyokeres has binned off the chance to don the famous Red Devils shirt, with his reps giving United the cold shoulder.Arsenal now seem to be at the front of t...
Nico Williams' private words to Yamal and Barca team-mates revealedNico Williams is doing everything in his power to join Barcelona this summer. Following his agent's meeting with Barca sporting director Deco, Williams' private conversations with Yamal and Barca team-mates within the Spain squad have now been revealed.No agreement between Como and City to sign Perrone permanentlyFabrizio Romano ha...
Viktor Gyokeres' dream destination revealed after Man United snubViktor Gyokeres reportedly has his heart set on a move to Arsenal this summer after rejected the chance to join up with Ruben Amorim at Man United.The 27-year-old is increasingly likely to leave Sporting this summer despite ongoing issues with the Portuguese champions hierarchy.Man United are understood to have made an approach but w...
Gennaro Gattuso agrees to become new Italy managerGennaro Gattuso has reportedly agreed to take over the Italy national team, replacing Luciano Spalletti after his dramatic dismissal. According to Fabrizio Romano, the 47-year-old will become the new manager of the Italy national team following Spaletti’s departure.The former Napoli manager was let go following a string of disappointing resul...
'Very self-destructive' - Luis de la Fuente hits out at Lamine Yamal criticsSpain manager Luis de la Fuente has vented his frustrations at the country's "self-destructive" tendencies after recent criticism of youngster Lamine Yamal.The 17-year-old was heavily critcised for an uncharacteristically quite showing in Spain’s penalty defeat to Portugal in the UEFA Nations League.Yamal remains arg...
Alisson rejects chance to leave LiverpoolLiverpool goalkeeper Alisson has reportedly rejected an offer from Turkish giants Galatasaray as he seeks to play out his contract at the Premier League club.According to Florian Plettenberg, Alisson, 32, had received a ‘concrete offer’ from the Turkish giants who are set to be very active this transfer window.The Brazilian has since rejected th...
Germany v France - UEFA Nations League 2025 Third Place MatchFlorian Wirtz is set to become one of the top earners at Liverpool after his stunning £116m move from Bayer Leverkusen.Van Dijk SalahWHAT HAPPENED?Accoridng to Sky Sports, the 22-year-old will earn a base salary of £195,000 a week. That could rise to more than £245,000 based on individual and team bonuses, representing a p...
- 1 Portugal vs France Prediction 12 June 2025
- 2 Bryan Mbeumo 'picks between Man Utd and Tottenham' as transfer agreement struck
- 3 Bayer Leverkusen interested in shock move for Jack Grealish
- 4 Brazil vs Paraguay Prediction 11 June 2025
- 5 Thomas Frank 'agrees' to take Tottenham job as Daniel Levy closes in on appointment
- 6 Harvey Elliott opens door to Liverpool exit
- 7 Bonnie Blue banned from adult site as controversial stunt 'crossed the line'
- 8 PSG vs Atletico Madrid Prediction 16 June 2025
- 9 Liverpool star Virgil van Dijk opens up on retirement plans
- 10 Tottenham make 'mega £70m bid for Bryan Mbeumo' as Man Utd fear hijack