Rafael van der Vaart claims Spurs sold a gem this summer

Former Tottenham Hotspur and Dutch national team midfielder Rafael van der Vaart has claimed that Spurs have sold "a gem" this summer - a player that will play against the club this season.

That player is Troy Parrott, who was sold to Eredivise side AZ Alkmaar for a fee of £6.7m back in the summer, and has made a brilliant start to life in The Netherlands so far, scoring five goals in eight league games, as well as the winner in the Europa League against Elsborg.

Regarding the former Spurs striker, van der Vaart told Voetbal Primeur: "I think he’s going to be a really big player. I don’t know what it is. I saw him at Excelsior, but then he was more on the counter. Now he is a good, footballing striker, who actually has everything. He just needs to develop his killer instinct a bit.

He can perhaps play football a bit too well to be a killer. Then you start wandering a bit and that costs strength. In the final phase, you lack some strength to score. I really think he is a gem.”

Whilst it is nice to see Parrott has found himself a permanent home, and is enjoying regular football, you do have to taken the sheer disparity of the leagues into consideration. Without trying to pour cold water on his progress, this context must be considered in any discourse.

Interesting to note that van der Vaart admits he was not as good in the Dutch tier last season, before immediately implying it doesn't matter, considering he used Dominic Solanke's season in the top flight of Dutch football, nine whole years ago, as a stick to beat the striker with. Of course he shouldn't for Parrott either, but have some consistency.

As alluded to at the start, Spurs will play AZ in the Europa League this season. In fact, it is their next European game, on the 24th October, at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.