Rafael van der Vaart is mightily impressed by one player who Tottenham let go in the summer transfer window – and the Lilywhites will have to face him soon.
The player in question is Troy Parrott, who was brought by AZ Alkmaar in a £6.7m deal from Spurs in the summer on the back of his impressive loan spell at Excelsior Rotterdam.
The centre-forward has made a strong start to his spell with the Dutch club, having found the back of the net six times across all competitions so far.
Van der Vaart confessed that he is now seeing different elements of Parrott’s game at Alkmaar which he did not witness at Excelsior last season.
The former Tottenham midfielder backed the Republic of Ireland international to evolve into a top player but suggested that he needs to develop more of a killer instinct in front of goal.
The Dutchman told Voetbal Primeur about Parrott: “I think he’s going to be a really big player. 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.”
For a long time, Parrott was seen as a potential first-team prospect at Hotspur Way, making his debut aged just 17 back in 2019.
Unfortunately, the striker did not develop the way Spurs would have hoped, struggling to make the expected impact during his loan spells in the EFL.
However, it seems like the 22-year-old has come off age over the last 12 months and is finally starting to fulfil the potential that he has.
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