Spurs’ Oliver Skipp wins Premier League 2 Player of the Month

By now we’re used to Tottenham Hotspur players being named Premier League Player of the Month. It’s not a regular occurrence, but it has happened six times in the last 15 months, and most months there’s a Spurs player that gets nominated.

However, we never hear about Tottenham Hotspur players winning the Premier League 2 Player of the Month. That’s what happened this week, when 18-year old midfielder Oliver Skipp took the award for September, winning him one of those awesome boxy trophies.

Skippy (is it okay to call him Skippy? Doesn’t matter, he’s Skippy now) took home the trophy despite a distinct lack of gaudy stats. He played 90 minutes in all of Spurs U23’s matches in September, earning an assist vs Manchester City. His play in with the U23s, combined with a midfield injury spate at the senior team, saw him make the bench for two Premier League matches, though he hasn’t yet made his first team debut.

The lack of stats is kind of hilarious — he is a featured player on the Premier League’s website, but his stats are literally all zeros because he hasn’t made his senior debut — but nobody’s doubting his talent or his ability. He was selected for the award from a list of nine nominated players by a panel of Premier League development experts.

It’s quite the achievement for a player whom most Spurs fans didn’t even know existed until this offseason. I don’t know if he’s going to make his first team debut for Spurs this year or not — he’s only 18, and there aren’t that many opportunities for a player like him — but Skipp is certainly turning heads and it’s not hard to think that he could possibly be the next academy central midfielder to come through and make an impact on Spurs’ first team, much like Harry Winks did before him.

I don’t know about you, but I’m sensing a hype train building. Choo friggin’ choo.