Nuno Espirito Santo has heaped praise on Oliver Skipp’s start to the season but was not keen to talk up the midfielder as a future Tottenham captain.
Skipp has been a mainstay in the Spurs starting line-up since returning from a successful loan spell at Norwich City last season.
And while Nuno is yet to strike a perfect balance with his midfield selection – some aren’t fond of the trio of Skipp, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Dele Alli – it is clear Skipp will feature prominently under the Portuguese coach.
Speaking in his pre-north London derby press conference on Friday, Nuno was full of compliments for Skipp, but the Tottenham boss took a little bit of umbrage when asked if the 21-year-old is a ‘potential young leader’ by Football London journalist Alasdair Gold.
“Don’t ask me these things, Alasdair,” Nuno said. “Let things go. We all must be patient with all the players, especially the young ones, give them time to develop.
“Oliver is doing a fantastic job and it’s our job as coaching staff to develop and improve all the players.”
It’s clear Nuno is simply trying to keep Skipp’s feet on the ground and avoid putting too much pressure on the England Under-21 international while he is still so young.
In truth, it’s impossible to tell just how far Skipp can go in terms of quality and leadership.
