Binks, Edwards and Madueke: The trio let go by Spurs way too early

A talent once compared to Lionel Messi by Mauricio Pochettino, a central defender playing in the USA well enough to earn a move to the Italian Serie A and a winger who has broken through into the PSV first team playing alongside World Cup Final goalscorer and winner Mario Gotze. All three players share the same thing in common - they began their careers at Tottenham Hotspur.

GUIMARAES, PORTUGAL - NOVEMBER 07: Zouhair Feddal (L) and Joao Mario of Sporting CP compete for the ball with Marcus Edwards of Vitoria Guimaraes SC during the Liga NOS match between Vitoria Guimaraes SC and Sporting CP at Estadio Dom Afonso Henriques on November 07, 2020 in Guimaraes, Portugal. Football Stadiums around Europe remain empty due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in fixtures being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Jose Manuel Alvarez/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images)

By Daniel Huggins16 November 2020 23:07 BST

Tottenham Hotspur have been prolific in the last ten years at producing Premier League ready footballers through their academy system.

The likes of Harry Kane, Harry Winks, Japhet Tanganga, Oliver Skipp, Troy Parrott, Harvey White and Dennis Cirkin have all been uncovered by the development team at Spurs and are very much apart of Head Coach Jose Mourinho's plans for the future.

But over the last couple of years, plenty of hot prospects have been moved on permanently as their development stunted, either because of unfortunate injuries or lack of game time - like England U17 World Cup winner Tashan Oakley-Boothe, Almere City striker Shayon Harrison and now U19 coach at Tottenham, Ryan Mason.

There have been few players who have been let go by the North London club at a young age that have went on to prove them wrong, but three players impressing at their respective clubs have began to make Tottenham regret moving them on.

Luis Binks, Marcus Edwards and Noni Madueke have all made lasting impressions at their clubs and consequently been touted for moves to big clubs, so how have they all proved Spurs wrong in letting them go?

Luis Binks - Spurs prospect turned Thierry Henry's star defender

Luis Binks is the subject of many Spurs fans lips right now - why did such an impressive youth prospect end up in the MLS for pennies, especially now he is joining Bologna at the end of the 2021 season with the expectation of playing first team football?

His scenario out of all three is the most complicated and difficult to answer - both Marcus Edwards and Noni Madueke moved on to European clubs playing in European tournaments, but Binks was moved on to Canada, playing for Thierry Henry's Montreal Impact.

The 19-year-old has made a name for himself across the Atlantic Ocean, lining up alongside the likes of former Spurs teammate Victor Wanyama and former Barcelona hot prospect Bojan Krkic.

Binks has starred in 22 MLS games for the club, as well as two CONCACAF Champions League games, but from the end of 2021 onwards, he will be swapping his trade from defending against MLS attackers to defending against the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Romelu Lukaku and Ciro Immobile in the Serie A.

His rapid rise has caught the attention of the England youth team setup too, with the England U19 and England U21 keeping an eye on his progress.

Scotland will also be interested in calling him up soon to their U21's, as Binks is also eligible to play for them too next to his soon-to-be Bologna teammate Aaron Hickey.

The defender will turn 20 in September 2021, and so is expected to only grow more and more as a player when he joins Bologna - leaving Spurs fans and staff win disbelief that they let him go for such a small fee.

Noni Madueke - PSV's teen sensation

The reasons behind Noni Madueke wanting to move on from Spurs are a lot clearer than the reason Binks left - the pursuit of football in Europe.

Thanks to Jadon Sancho's development at Borussia Dortmund, plenty of youth team footballers in England have been left wondering if staying at their respective clubs would hinder their development in comparison to if they joined a club abroad.

Madueke has all the ability and character to follow in the footsteps of Sancho and become a global sensation, as he continues to take Dutch football by storm at his current club PSV Eindhoven.

The 18-year-old, who also turned down Manchester United before moving to the Netherlands, has already made 11 appearances for his team, scoring four times and assisting twice.

His emergence at the Dutch giants have been a surprise, given he was expected to be a maximum of a bit part player this season with the possibility of becoming a first team player towards the end of the season.

But the attacker's versatility, pace, skill and finishing have made him a reliable option for Roger Schmidt's side, who also have Mario Gotze in their ranks.

With Lucas Moura and Steven Bergwijn struggling to make much of an impact this season for Spurs, the question is could Madueke have come into this Spurs side if hypothetically his development was mirrored if he chose to stay in North London?

Marcus Edwards - Pochettino's Messi now making waves in Portugal

After a season on loan at Eredivisie side Excelsior, Marcus Edwards found himself heading to Vitoria S.C playing in Portugal's top flight after Spurs deemed him surplus to requirements.

It was a huge disappointment for Tottenham fans, who had high hopes for the youngster once described by Mauricio Pochettino as someone who plays like Lionel Messi.

That was before his sole appearance for Tottenham, a win over Gillingham in the League Cup - which was one of his final games before he suffered an ankle injury which required surgery.

A failed loan spell at Norwich was followed by an impressive loan spell in the Netherlands, where he completed the most dribbles per game in the entire league - ahead of second placed Steven Bergwijn who has since joined Tottenham.

His permanent move to Vitoria has so far been undeniably a huge success, with the attacking midfielder even scoring against former foes Arsenal in the Europa League.

Edwards, who turns 22 in December, managed an impressive seven goals and nine assists in his first season at Vitoria - appearing just 26 times, and this season he has one goal and one assist inside his first seven games.

His performances have attracted interest from Sporting Lisbon, Benfica, Manchester United and even Tottenham as well - who reportedly are keen on reuniting with their one time top prospect.

Could this move happen in the future? If so it would be a huge loss from Spurs financially as Vitoria would be likely to demand a fee of around £20-25 million, a figure significantly higher than the one Vitoria paid to acquire him.