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Marcus Edwards turned 19 on Sunday and it brought to an end a tough and pretty much wasted year for him at Tottenham Hotspur.

At the same age, Dele Alli had 62 first team matches under his belt at MK Dons and had sealed a move to Spurs and the big time. While 19, he became a Premier League sensation, was named the PFA Young Player of the Year and made his senior England debut.

Unfortunately at 19, Edwards has just 15 minutes of first team action to his name - coming off the bench against Gillingham in the League Cup in September last year.

It should have been so different. The teenager has sublime technique and dribbling ability and his set pieces are as dangerous as they come. So enamoured with the young midfielder was Pochettino while watching him in youth matches that he uttered those words that have stuck to Edwards like a lead weight ever since.

"The qualities - it's only looks, his body and the way that he plays - remind me a little bit from the beginning of Messi," he uttered, with the Spurs press officer beside him dropping his head in his hands as he knew what the press would do with that comment.

Pochettino didn't stop there, adding the following month: "Maybe if Marcus Edwards were born in Brazil or Argentina, today he would be one of the most interesting prospects in football in the world."

If the Argentine bigs up a young player and dishes out such a lofty comparison, you sit up and listen. His reputation for bringing through and developing young players into stars is up there with the best in the world. The England team has clearly benefited greatly from his work with homegrown academy players who were played when he felt they were ready rather than letting their age dictate that they weren't old enough.

However, using that same reputation as a reference point, when Pochettino refuses to let a young player make the move up to the first team - especially one he's previously raved about - and picks others ahead of him, it's a clear signal that something has gone wrong and the manager is not best pleased.

"Maybe I made a mistake [comparing him to Messi] because I believed it was positive and he was going to take it in a positive way," the Spurs boss admitted on Tuesday.

There was more than a touch of misfortune for Edwards with an ankle injury keeping him out for months after that cameo against Gillingham in 2016 and interrupting his progress.

However, the one thing that was and still is in the teenager's hands is his work rate and attitude, tracking back, tackling and helping out others. The desire to work hard in every single training session and match, whatever the age group, is what separates your Harry Kanes and Harry Winks from your Ravel Morrisons and Adel Tarrabts.

Often the most gifted young players can be overtaken in the game and left behind by those with less natural talent but far more determination. Sometimes you get a combination of the two and you end up with a Messi or a Ronaldo.

It was telling that during Pochettino's press conference on Tuesday football.london asked him four questions in a row about Kazaiah Sterling, Luke Amos, Marcus Edwards and Georges-Kevin Nkoudou. In three of the answers, the Tottenham manager spoke about good behaviour and great attitude. No prizes for guessing the one player who didn't get that accolade.

That is why Sterling and Amos have been promoted ahead of Edwards and by the end of Wednesday evening the former in particular has a good chance of being able to say he's played in the Champions League. It's no coincidence that Sterling and Amos are two of the hardest working players on the pitch in development squad matches.

Pochettino was asked directly about Edwards' attitude and whether it was letting him down. He did not take the opportunity to reject the notion.

"No I’m not going to talk about that. It’s about performance," he said. "Of course he needs to work hard like different players that we have in the academy, and wait for the opportunity. It’s never easy, the last step, to join the first team from the academy."

Pochettino recently acknowledged Edwards' "behavourial issues and problems with authority" in his book and it's clear that no player will ever get promoted into his first team if he doesn't work hard for his team-mates, however talented he is.

To allow such a player to enter the ranks would destroy the whole ethos the Argentine has created at the club. For Pochettino the collective is the most important thing. Dele Alli will throw the odd tantrum on the pitch, but ultimately he will give his all for any of his team-mates. None of Spurs' first team players see themselves as more important than any of their team-mates, regardless of their goals, assists, clean sheets, sponsorship deals or transfer market value.

If Marcus Edwards is to join them - if he truly wants to - then he's going to have to increase his work ethic to equal the rest of his qualities. His star has dropped right now, despite the three-year professional deal he was handed in the summer by the club after much wrangling.

Within the walls of Hotspur Way, he is no more acknowledged as the most promising youngster within the development squad. That honour arguably falls upon Oliver Skipp, a defensive midfielder who only recently turned 17 yet has been bossing far older midfielders for the last year in U19 and U23 matches. He has wonderful technique, anticipation, can read the game and yes, you guessed it, never stops running for the team, whether it's a match or a training session.

All is not lost for Edwards though. Far from it. If he responds to this latest setback and comes back stronger and with renewed application he will get his chance. Pochettino is just waiting for the teenager to show him that he's more than just a luxury player who will beat two men and then run into a third and that he's someone who can run a game rather than dazzle occasionally from its pheriphery.

The last time Pochettino spoke about how Edwards had stagnated and wasn't ready - before the Carabao Cup tie with Barnsley - the teenage midfielder responded with a stinker of a display for the U23s later that night. He barely moved for the ball unless it was played to his feet and from the outside he appeared to be in a bit of a strop.

Edwards will take to the field tomorrow against Apoel Nicosia, but it will be for the U19s at Hotspur Way not for the first team at Wembley. His best displays this season have come in the UEFA Youth League, often when the matches have been televised. Tomorrow's match is not being shown on BT Sport - will he provide the same amount of effort and determined attitude without the cameras present?

If he does or doesn't, Pochettino will find out about it. The Spurs boss and academy head John McDermott share a strong relationship and are close allies, often spending afternoons chatting in each other's offices at the training complex in Enfield. If Edwards is not impressing McDermott, he certainly won't be impressing Pochettino.

The next six months are likely to be crucial in the development of Edwards. If he continues down the path where his performances and application don't match his talent then his career could be destined for the lower leagues. The Premier League always proves to be no permanent home for those without work ethic.

If Marcus Edwards gets his head down and realises he's got a fan in Pochettino but one who wants him to be so much more, then he could genuinely prove to be one of the most exciting prospects the English game has seen.