logo
logo
This kid is special.

Spurs have unearthed a crown jewel ready to lead England’s next golden generation

England head into Euro 2024 with a squad that’s beginning to feel overdue a trophy of some kind, but the truth is there’s a talent factory waiting in the wings.

For the first time in what feels like forever, the England men’s team has been nothing but positive for the most part, ever since Gareth Southgate and his glorious waistcoat led the Three Lions to the World Cup semi-final in 2018.

It’s been – as ever – a case of ‘almost’ virtually ever since, albeit with a more optimistic twinge due to the fact that England fans have been able to watch a ‘golden generation’ actually deliver in terms of performances on a consistent basis, without constant reports of discontent and clear hostility in camp.

That being said, heading into Euro 2024 – Southgate’s fourth major tournament in charge – proceedings are beginning to feel somewhat do or die for himself and his current favoured squad, especially considering how close they came in 2021 and how they enter this tournament among the favourites.

England fans are used to defaulting to a mode of pessimism and doom and gloom, but it doesn’t have to be that way, regardless of the outcome this summer in Germany. Like we alluded to earlier, the current crop of talent is being followed closely by an equally impressive group of youngsters.


READ NEXT: An outrageously brilliant XI of players left out of England’s Euro 2024 squad

TRY A QUIZ: Can you name every player capped by Gareth Southgate for England?


There’s a crown jewel, however, who looks destined to carry the flag for club and country over the next 10-15 years if all goes to plan. Step forward, Mikey Moore.

A member of Tottenham’s youth academy and a regular for England at youth level, Moore’s progress has been quiet but frightening – up until now.

Born in 2007 – we’re talking months after the iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs – the tricky winger doesn’t only just make us feel sick from how young he still is, but also through watching him twist defenders up for fun at academy level, for club and country.

Cutting his way through the pitch with swagger and supreme precision in equal measures, there’s something beautifully old school about his stride with the ball and the way he looks to burst past his marker.

Make no mistakes, though. Moore isn’t a sloppy flair merchant who’s willing to give the ball away; by the time it’s been killed with his deft touch, he’s already plotted the murder scene ahead for his defender and visualised the next two or three sequences of play. This is a cold, calculated demon.

He’s England’s gem for the future, but the with dribbling, pace and strength on the ball that he’s already showing, there’s no reason why that future has to be far away.

 

After watching him in full stride for England’s under-17s, it’s immediately clear why Tottenham had him playing games and winning trophies with their under-17s, 18s and 19s at just 15 years old last season. The kid is absolutely phenomenal. And best of all, he’s completely unshaken no matter the opponent.

A right-footed left winger, Moore does his most devastating work when cutting inside from the flank and joining the midfield, but being given licence to take on players and drive the ball into dangerous areas.

Defenders gravitate towards him in a bid to dispossess the teenager, but are more often than not unsuccessful and are left with a face full of the mud his heels have kicked up at them.

Stats don’t tell the full story, nor do they ever do justice to a player as devastating yet equally joyous as Moore, whose potential is through the roof, but his 16 goals and nine assists from 16 under-18 Premier League games are merely the icing on the cake.

Having been given his senior debut for Spurs against Manchester City in May 2024, surpassing Dane Scarlett as their youngest debutant, the blueprint appears to be laid for integration into the first-team next season.

There’s a long way to go, but given his performances for club and now country with England’s under-17s, there’s no reason why Moore can’t be the face of a rejuvenated and youthful England senior side as they refresh in the year after Euro 2024.

By Mitch Wilks