Talented Tottenham youngster Oliver Skipp reflects on his impressive senior debut

Tottenham Hotspur were under pressure for quite a bit of their Carabao Cup fourth round tie with West Ham United, but they ultimately got the job done with a 3-1 victory.

Mauricio Pochettino can be happy with his team’s progression to the quarterfinals, and he can also be happy with the play of a youngster who got his first chance to make his mark with the big boys. 18-year-old academy graduate Oliver Skipp came on in the 85th minute to make his senior debut for the club.

Skipp showed well in his brief cameo at the London Stadium. He spoke after the game and was delighted with the experience.

Skipp admitted to being nervous, but you can tell that he was genuinely thrilled to make his debut.

And he didn’t look out of place either. Skipp displayed some burst when he had the ball at his feet and attempted to drive forward. He had one particularly impressive run down the right that ended with him playing a dangerous ball across the box. It was a limited amount of time to make an impact, but the experience gained from making his debut in a London derby will be invaluable.

The Spurs’ academy graduate was born in Welwyn Garden City in the suburbs of London. He’s still only 18 but has featured heavily for Tottenham’s Under-23 team, usually as a midfielder. His first goal for the U-23’s appropriately came in a 3-1 win over Arsenal last March.

Skipp probably won’t feature much the rest of the season. He may get another chance in the early rounds of the FA Cup, but his future is still undoubtedly bright. At the moment, he is Spurs’ premier prospect in their youth teams. Now it’s just about helping him continue to grow as a person and as a footballer so he can eventually make his full transition to the senior squad.