Jose Mourinho has praised Spurs teenager Dane Scarlett after his cameo against Wolfsberger in the Europa League and likened his development to that of Manchester United striker Marcus Rashford.
The 16-year-old Tottenham wonderkid picked up an assist in Wednesday’s round-of-32 victory, with Spurs winning 8-1 on aggregate to progress to the last 16, while he was giving a Premier League outing earlier this month against West Brom.
In both games Scarlett has been deployed on the left flank and Mourinho says it is a similar approach he took with Rashford while he was manager at United, with the Portuguese coach a massive fan of his latest wonderkid – even claiming he could be part of the first team next season.
‘He’s a diamond. He’s a kid with an incredible potential,’ Mourinho told BT Sport after Spurs’ 4-0 victory at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
‘He’s working many, many times with the first team which gives him of course a different personality.
‘He’s playing of course with the young people, he’s still 16, 17 soon but he’s still 16. And I believe that next season he’s going to be a first-team player, a first-team squad player, because his talent is to develop and when the kids are very, very good, 17, 18 or 19 years old doesn’t change much.
‘He’s going to be a fantastic player. I hope just that everything goes well around him and nothing strange disturbs his development, because the kid is a fantastic talent.
‘He’s a striker, a number nine, but I am playing him more from the sides. A little bit similar to what happened to Rashford.
‘When you are too young, it’s more difficult to be a nine and it’s easier to come from the sides without losing that killer instinct. Very clever. I am very, very pleased.’
Spurs were never troubled by Wolfsberger in their win with Dele Alli playing a starring role – scoring a stunning bicycle kick and assisting twice – and Mourinho admits he could have a few selection headaches when he picks his team to face Burnley on Sunday.
Asked if anyone had forced their way into his starting XI, Mourinho replied: ‘I would say all of them!
‘There is not one player here I would say I’m not happy with. The performances were good. Are they all going to start the game next Sunday? No.
‘But we play Sunday, we play Wednesday, we play Sunday, we play Thursday and this is what the team needs. One player injured, Gio Lo Celso, but coming back, so we are in a good position to fight back.’
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