Sporting Lisbon head coach Ruben Amorim has tipped former Tottenham playmaker Marcus Edwards for an England call-up.
The Enfield-born 23-year-old left Spurs two years ago without making a Premier League appearance, despite being jokingly likened to Lionel Messi by former White Hart Lane boss Mauricio Pochettino. But he is fulfilling his potential in Portuguese football with a successful spell at Guimaraes before joining Sporting in January this year.
Amorim said: “Marcus is a very talented player. He’s one of the best players for playing between the lines. He took a little while to adapt to the Portuguese lifestyle but he has so much talent. He can get much better.
“He can even get to the English national team. He has to focus more on training and all that is around it. Football is not just matches, it’s everything in between. I trust him a lot. I know he can grow a lot. He has a long way to go but I think we did excellent business in signing him.”
So far this season, Edwards has scored three times in his seven games. Last week, he set Sporting on their way to victory against Eintracht Frankfurt - last season's Europa League winners - with his first Champions League goal.
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He then made the second for former Wolves loan signing Francisco Trincao in a man-of-the-match display as Sporting ran out 3-0 winners. Spurs defender Eric Dier, who played with Edwards in North London and previously plied his trade with Sporting, added: “I remember him well. He trained with us for a few years.
“He is a very talented player. Technically, he’s very good and he is someone we will have to play a lot of attention to. It's very difficult to come to a different country and play in a different league. He can be very proud of himself.”
