Why Mikey Moore needs to start for Tottenham – A deep analysis into his game

Did you know that Spurs rejected a ‘mega’ offer from Chelsea a few seasons ago when Mikey Moore was only 15 years old? We all know the Blues like to collect any possible young player they can get their hands on, but being that desperate to snatch a top talent away from us must clearly indicate how talented the youngster is.

See, back in the 2022/2023 season, when Chelsea were interested in the youngster, Moore made his debut for Tottenham’s under-18 squad at just 15 years of age, an incredible feat!

Youth Level Superstar

Playing against older players proved to be not an issue for Moore as he scored four goals and provided three assists in just ten appearances!

Seven-goal contributions in 10 games at just 15 years of age are unnatural numbers!

Taking a look at some of Moore’s matches from that season, you can see everything that makes the 17-year-old such a massive talent.

This game saw Spurs’ under-17 side crowned Premier League 2 Cup Champions after a 5-1 hammering of Nottingham Forest, a game in which Mikey Moore scored two goals against players 2 years older than him.

At 5’11, Moore has a particularly physically dominant build, at just 16 years of age, this already gives him an advantage over other players his age, with the ability to cope with the physicality of the top-level game. But, it’s also worth mentioning that Moore is quick on the ball, with an absurd dribbling ability!

Counter-Attacking

In this sequence, you can see the English youngster pick up the ball in his own half following a set-piece situation with three defenders around him: one challenging, one coming from behind, and one about to come in from in front of him. A tricky situation that most players struggle to cope with.

Well, using the physicality that we mentioned, Moore shrugged off his tight marker and then left the first two defenders behind with his explosive pace.

As he progresses further up the pitch, the third defender commits to the challenge, and here, Moore uses his body to shield the ball in an incredibly impressive fashion, winning a set piece in the process.

You can safely say that Moore singlehandedly turned a situation where Forest were in a dangerous area in front of the Tottenham goal into a free kick in their half of the pitch, all by just using his speed and physicality.

Final Third

You can see Moore bearing down on the goal, with nobody in the box. His options are incredibly limited, and he’s forced to take on the defender in front of him, with another tracking back to double up on the English youngster.

With the defender in front of him backing off, the aforementioned Forest player who had been tracking back puts a challenge that Moore sees off with relative ease, progressing onto the edge of the box where three different players are trying to stop his path to the goal.

And as you probably all expected, Moore skips his chaser and easily crashes into the box.

With four defenders surrounding him, the academy star was under an insane amount of pressure to get the shot off here But guess what! Moore showed unreal levels of a composer as he curled a pass into the bottom corner in a situation where many others would just leather the ball.

But why is this goal so important for us? This season, a lot of our struggles have come from one vs one situations, with wingers like Timo Werner, Brennan Johnson and even Sonny being unable to deal with the defensive setups teams utilize against us.

And this is why a player like Moore, who has the ability to take on defenders and create chances for himself is such a vital asset to have.

International Superstar

Following his impressive 2022/2023 campaign, Moore was called up into England’s Under-17 setup to compete with the best talents across Europe, who would have been at least a year older, potentially two at the time!

And while England failed to make it past the quarter-finals, Moore had a world-class tournament, scoring four goals in four games!

Many of you might recognize where this frame comes from, and honestly, there’s not much to look at from this goal, so why am I showing it off? Well, it’s simply because it’s a stunning strike that shows off just how good Moore’s shooting ability is.

The youngster picked up the ball on the edge of the box and then went on to smash it past the keeper with a power that made it near impossible to save.

Take a look at where Moore is positioned at the far post and in the defender’s blindside, waiting for a cross to come in for him to finish off!

Moore gave himself the needed distance from his closest marker, so when the ball was whipped into the box, it became too much for the French defender to deal with, as he tried to clear the ball with a header but was too far in front of it to do anything.

This goal right here displays how Moore can play different roles depending on the situation. He’s naturally a pacey winger who can take on his opponents and burst forward with pace, but he can also act as a centre-forward with world-class positioning and finishing.

Speaking of that world-class dribbling ability, let us touch on that ability once again because that goal against Nottingham Forrest was not a once-off!

You can see here how Moore picks up the ball in a similar area to where he did in the Forest game. Once again, he is instantly surrounded by four French defenders who know just how dangerous he is.

And this is where the player used one of his favourite traits, which is cutting inside from the wing, pulling three French defenders with him, as he uses his physicality to shied the ball.

The youngster proceeds to continue his run across the face of the box, leaving the French defenders behind him and turning the French fullback inside out.

One of the important things to mention here is how fast these plays actually happen. Mikey picked up the ball at the edge of the box, and in the span of six seconds, the Spurs academy star drove past four defenders, twisted the fullback’s ankles, and fired home to score the third.

All these goals have come at youth levels, and that’s not a surprise. But, surely it would be crazy to suggest a 16-year-old could actually perform well against senior opposition, right?

Pre Season Campaign

Across Postecoglou’s pre-season campaign, Moore mainly featured as a winger, however, with his late winner in the Vissel Kobe game, Mikey also showed off that versatility we were talking about earlier,! 

The youngster moved into a more central area to position himself like a world-class centre forward, which resulted in him tapping the ball home and winning the game.

This trait is one of the most important parts of his game, and it’s why he is exactly what Postecoglou would want in a player.

Take a look at Moore in his more natural position as a winger! You can see him here pick the ball in the right half-space after starting his run from the wide right-hand side.

Moore suddenly stopped his run, dragged the ball back and completely changed direction as he utilized his quick feet to open up the play as the Hearts player dives in.

With just one simple trick, Moore embarrasses the Hearts defender, this just once again shows his ability on the ball while under pressure as he used his close ball control to completely demolish the defender.

Just this one goal displays so much: on-the-ball ability, quick thinking, spatial awareness, and that killer instinct within the box.

And right here, we can see Moore’s playmaking ability in wide areas. This is something that we always mentioned earlier, an area that Spurs desperately need, as Tottenham’s winger struggle with their creativity when It comes to making chances for themselves.

With Moore picking up the ball in acres of space, his options are limited, with two defenders cutting his best passing option.

However, Moore uses his vision to spot to run of Dane Scarlett crashing in on the edge of the box.

In that second, and with the outside of his foot, Moore decides to play a perfect pass across the face of the box, beating every QPR defender to fall into the path of Scarlett, who fires home an easy tap-in. How many times have we seen the likes of Timo Werner in the same position to no avail?

He’s near world-class on the ball, being able to drive past defenders and use his close ball control to get around them. He also showed his impressive passing ability and vision while also proving that he’s lethal in the box as he has the needed spatial awareness and positioning as a centre forward.

We’re sure that we’ll see Moore pick up some first-team minutes for Postecoglou this season, with the Aussie manager rating him highly. But, it’s too early to suggest he’s going to play a 38-game season in the Premier League, or even half of that!

 What we believe we’ll see, is Moore being mostly a rotation option to come on against tired legs, and to start in the Europa League where Spurs might test some of their youngsters in a team that looks a little something like this.

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