A Star in the Making: Tottenham's Teen Sensation Mikey Moore Draws Comparisons to Neymar After Impressive Europa League Performance

LONDON – Tottenham Hotspur rising star Mikey Moore drew comparisons to Brazilian sensation Neymar following his impressive performance in the 1-0 victory against AZ Alkmaar in the Europa League on October 24. Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou acknowledged the challenge of managing the high expectations surrounding Moore's potential.

Making just his second start for the first team, 17-year-old Moore shone playing down the left wing, regularly leaving AZ defenders floundering.

“From minute 45 to 65, I thought we had Neymar on the left wing! He was brilliant,” Tottenham stand-in skipper James Maddison told TNT Sports as he compared his teammate to Neymar, the world’s most expensive footballer when he moved to Paris Saint-Germain for €222 million in 2017.

“Demanded the ball, fearless. That young fearless mentality, you never want to take that away from him.

“He’s a lovely boy, takes on information and he has got bags of ability. So, I will be there as an older player, hopefully with some wise words, to help him along the way. He has all the ability. It is about knuckling down and keep working hard which he does to be fair to him.”

Postecoglou said he faces a challenge to rein in anticipation of what Moore can deliver for Spurs.

“It’s pretty hard for me to keep a lid on it now ain’t it? He was exciting. There is no point denying it,” said the manager.

“I love the way Mikey is taking it all in his stride, he works hard every day. He wants to develop, he understands that this is a journey.”

However, the Australian also cautioned: “We have to be really careful about how we use him and when we use him, that is the key for us, particularly in these early stages.”

With their victory, Tottenham made it three wins from three in the Europa League and are one of three teams to have won all three matches alongside Lazio and Anderlecht who enjoyed 2-0 wins over Twente and Ludogorets respectively.

Postecoglou made a host of changes to the side who beat West Ham 4-1 in the Premier League at the weekend and Moore almost gave them an early lead but headed wide.

The introduction of Brennan Johnson at half-time moved Spurs up a gear and they were awarded a penalty in the 53rd minute when Lucas Bergvall was brought down as he went to shoot.

Maddison passed the ball to striker Richarlison, who slammed the ball down the middle to put the team in front.

AZ then had Moller Wolfe sent off for a bad tackle on Johnson as Spurs held on for the win.

“Another one ticked off,” Maddison added. “That’s three in three, nine points puts us in a very good position.” AFP,