Chadder View: Oliver Skipp should be moved on as Ange Postecoglou continues to rebuild Tottenham squad
Matthew Chadder is a lifelong Tottenham fan who grew up just down the road from his beloved club in North London. He’s now putting his passion for Spurs into words with a daily fan view for Tottenham News…
I would love to see Oliver Skipp make it in a Tottenham shirt, but sadly I don’t think that day will come.
Skipp is a good footballer, and this is by no means a criticism of his ability.
For 10-12 teams in the Premier League, I think Skipp could be a top midfielder who could make a big difference to those clubs. Unfortunately, I just don’t see Spurs as one of those clubs.
Everyone loves to see an academy player come through the ranks and make it, but sometimes two parties must recognise that they are better off going their separate ways.
Rodrigo Bentancur, Pape Matar Sarr and Yves Bissouma are all ahead of the Englishman in the pecking order, and I suspect that the club will look to sign another midfielder during the summer transfer window.
That would leave Skipp around fifth or sixth in the rankings, and he is too good of a player to be that low down. From his perspective, he should move on to secure more regular first-team football now that he is 23 years old, and from Spurs’ perspective, the sale could do a lot of good for the club.
One of the biggest bonuses of having Skipp around is the fact that he counts as a homegrown player which goes toward filling that particular quota. However, from next season Sarr will count as a homegrown option, which makes Skipp’s involvement in the squad that bit less meaningful.
The fact that he is homegrown and has come from within the academy means any sale will count as pure profit for Daniel Levy and the football club, which will only help boost Spurs’ finances even further at a time when other clubs continue to come under fire.
Ange Postecoglou needs midfielders who can offer something going forward, and while Skipp can do a job defensively and in possession, he doesn’t tick that third box at all.
He has almost reached a century of games in North London, and he has fewer goals and the same amount of assists in that time as Sarr has in the Premier League this season.
One goal and two assists in 99 games is just not enough for a midfielder, even if the goal was that screamer against Chelsea.
Skipp is a tidy player with a lot to offer, I just think it is time for him to offer his ability somewhere else, for the sake of both the progression of his career and Tottenham Hotspur Football Club.
In other Tottenham news, Spurs have been recommended to sign a striker tearing it up in Europe who sources say is better than Timo Werner.
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