Should Tottenham have sent Troy Parrott out on loan?

Troy Parrott last week signed a new contract that should see him stay in north London until 2023, but would Tottenham have been better served to send the youngster out on a loan until the end of the season?

Ireland boss Mick McCarthy is frustrated by Tottenham’s decision not to send Parrott out on loan. In a recent interview with Emmet Malone of the Irish Times, McCarthy said the following about Parrott’s current situation:

"“Not really,” said the Ireland manager when asked, at the launch of the Elverys InterSport FAI Summer Schools, if he was happy to see Parrot sign a new deal at Tottenham. “I wish he’d gone to Charlton and played games on loan.“It’s great for him financially, he’s got a new contract but I wish he was playing football somewhere. He couldn’t go out before because of his age and I understand that but if he’s not playing competitive football he has very little chance of being in the squad.”"

That about sums it up. The steely manager has a point where Ireland is concerned. Of course McCarthy wants to see his youngsters gets as much match time as possible, but was he actually going to include Parrott, even if he went on loan to the likes of Charlton, in his plans for the upcoming Euro 2020 playoff against Slovakia?

Considering Parrott has only one match under his belt at international level – by way of a friendly against New Zealand in November – I highly doubt the 18-year-old would have featured in such a pivotal match.

And while the opinionated Irish manager has a lot to say about Parrott and his development at Hotspur Way, loaning the wunderkind at a time when Spurs are in desperate need of attackers was a non-starter for Jose Mourinho and his staff.

In an ideal world, Parrott might have benefited from the significantly increased match time he would have seen at a team like Charlton, but Spurs need him to be a part of the senior club’s training and development. And they need him as a contingency too.

Spurs don’t have much in the way of reinforcements and Parrott’s time is better served learning and maturing under the wily experience of his Portuguese gaffer. Based on his potential and how far he’s come in the last two years, Parrott will have absolutely no issue with cracking Ireland’s top 11, maybe as quickly as next year.

In fact if Parrott continues on his current trajectory he’ll soon be the first name down on Ireland’s team sheet for years to come.