Jose Mourinho urged to ‘give Troy Parrott a shot’ as Tottenham striker could emulate the likes of Wayne Rooney and Marcus Rashford
Tottenham legend Chris Waddle is adamant young striker Troy Parrott deserves to be in the first-team squad for their match at Chelsea on Saturday.
Jose Mourinho's side are experiencing a crisis in attack as Harry Kane is ruled out until April with a hamstring injury, while Heung-min Son may not feature for the rest of the campaign after sustaining a fractured arm last weekend.
The absence of Kane and Son meant Spurs were very bare up front during their Champions League clash against RB Leipzig this week, the Premier League side offering little in attack as Dele Alli and Lucas Moura stepping in up top in the 1-0 defeat.
Waddle told : "If Wednesday night’s Champions League match against Leipzig taught us anything it’s that Tottenham don’t have an alternative number nine with both Harry Kane and Heung-min Son injured. Other players can’t simply be shoehorned into that role."
Parrott, 18, is one of Spurs' most promising academy players but only has one appearance in the Premier League to his name this season - a five-minute cameo during a 5-0 win at home to Burnley in December.
A place in the squad at Stamford Bridge would be a potential baptism of fire for Parrott but Waddle believes the striker could even have a similar effect Wayne Rooney and Marcus Rashford had when they were youngsters.
Waddle added: "You only need to look at the likes of Wayne Rooney and Marcus Rashford to see what can happen if you take an early punt on a young striker.
"Sometimes you have to give a young striker a go – and now’s the time for Jose Mourinho to give Troy Parrott a shot. And that means at the very least sticking him on the bench at Chelsea on Saturday.
- You can listen to full commentary of Chelsea vs Tottenham LIVE on talkSPORT, kick-off 12:30pm
"The way Spurs play they need a number nine and Parrott is that option right now – and I don’t care that he’s only 18. Let’s not forget that he’s a full international – he played for the Republic of Ireland against New Zealand in November – so he’s not a stranger to playing at a high level surrounded by top players.
"I don’t think Mourinho has much choice or Tottenham’s top-four prospects could be in real trouble. He complained on Wednesday that several of his players are jaded and fading. Well, Parrott isn’t. He could be the answer and Spurs fans would give him a chance. They’ll be right behind him because he’s one of their own having come through the academy.
"It’s hard to question Mourinho because of everything he has achieved down the years but I’ve never quite got his reluctance to take chances on kids."
Saturday is GameDay on talkSPORT as we bring you THREE live Premier League commentaries across our network including Chelsea vs Tottenham at 12:30pm