Former Tottenham Hotspur and Netherlands midfielder Rafael van der Vaart has admitted he thinks Ange Postecoglou has made a mistake letting one member of his squad leave permanently this summer.
Tottenham's impressive youth ranks
Tottenham have made a strong start to the Premier League in their second season under Postecoglou, and much of their good work has been from younger talents in the squad.
Brennan Johnson has managed five goals and assists in his last five outings and Destiny Udogie has impressed, while there has also been plenty of fascination around 17-year-old Mikey Moore, who was handed his first Spurs start in their win over Ferencvaros after three previous substitute appearances.
A winger by trade, the teenager is considered one of the next big things in north London alongside fellow young attacker Will Lankshear, who also started against the Hungarian side, and the two are highly regarded within the north London club.
But now, a former Tottenham star has revealed that he believes despite all the good work Tottenham have done in integrating youth, one young talent may well have got away from them, and it will come to cost them should he continue to impress.
Van der Vaart claims one got away
That comes in the shape of former Tottenham youngster Troy Parrott, who joined AZ Alkmaar in a permanent deal over the summer after several mixed loan spells. The 21-year-old has enjoyed a fantastic start for his new side, scoring five times in seven Eredivisie outings as well as finding the net in the Europa League.
It follows mixed loan spells in the Championship and at Excelsior, which convinced Spurs to cash in on the 21-year-old, something that their former midfielder believes will come back to haunt them.
"I think he’s going to be a really big player,” Van der Vaart, who represented Tottenham on 77 occasions across three seasons, said in quotes picked up by the Dutch media.
“I don’t know what it is. I saw him at Excelsior, but then he was more on the counter. Now he is a good, footballing striker, who actually has everything. He just needs to develop his killer instinct a bit.
“He can perhaps play football a bit too well to be a killer. Then you start wandering a bit and that costs strength. In the final phase you lack some strength to score. I really think he is a gem.”
With Richarlison, Dominic Solanke and Lankshear at the club already, it is easy to see why Parrott decided to head away from north London. Spurs will just be hoping that they made the right decision on allowing a permanent exit.