Mikey Moore: Tottenham Hotspur winger labelled 'a star' after impressing in UEFA Europa League win against Ferencvaros

Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou praised Mikey Moore's "outstanding" performance on his first start for the club in their 2-1 UEFA Europa League win against Ferencvaros.

The 17-year-old winger played the entirety of the match in Budapest as the Spurs boss opted for an inexperienced team to take care of business.

His starting line-up included four teenagers with Lucas Bergvall, 18, Archie Gray, 18, and 19-year-old debutant Will Lankshear all also thrown in from the off.

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Speaking to TNT Sports after the match, Postecoglou said: "Mikey was outstanding for a 17-year-old.

"90 minutes of European football away from home, I thought he was brilliant.

"Will [was] just unlucky not to get a goal. He had a couple of moments and the shot that went just over the bar.

"I thought Archie was brilliant, played him a couple of positions today and Lucas worked hard. I think that was a huge positive for us."

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Former Chelsea and England midfielder Joe Cole contemplated whether Moore did enough to retain his place for their Premier League clash against Brighton – should captain Son Heung-min be unavailable due to injury.

“He’s different to Son,” Cole said.

“The midfield they went with against Manchester United [in last weekend’s 3-0 win], I think you might see Sarr or [Yves] Bissouma come into that because I think Brighton are a different animal to Manchester United, but he’s certainly staked a claim.

“Ange Postecoglou would’ve looked at him in pre-season and thought he might be useful this year and every time he plays he ticks another box.

“I think you’ll see a lot more of him. I think he’s a star and I think he’s certainly in the frame for the weekend."

Brennan Johnson came off the bench to score his fifth goal in five games to secure the victory for Tottenham in a nervy end to the match.

Sarr had put Spurs ahead in the first half, before Johnson doubled their lead late on.

Barnabas Varga – who had one goal ruled out – scored for the home side to leave Postecoglou’s team clinging on in added time.

Speaking of the need to introduce first team regulars from the bench including Johnson, James Maddison and Dominic Solanke, Postecoglou said: "They need to do some work. Didn’t come here for a holiday.

"Budapest’s a beautiful city but they needed to put in a shift and I thought they did, they made an impact."

Former Tottenham striker Peter Crouch, who was watching for TNT Sports, said: “I think it’s good to be able to blood the youngsters, that’s invaluable experience for them.

“It wasn’t an A+ performance I don’t think. It could’ve been better.

“They’re away in Europe, it’s a difficult place to go. They’ve got a victory but they hung on at times."

Tottenham have now won five matches in a row in all competitions, and Postecoglou has seen a major improvement to the way his team is performing.

"There’s no denying our football’s progressing but part of that is also that resilience and relentlessness to keep getting results and winning games," he said.

"The last five games now, the boys are really doing everything they can to make sure our football is complemented by getting the rewards."

Stream the 2024-25 UEFA Europa League live on TNT Sports and discovery+

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