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If this had been any other season at Tottenham Hotspur then Troy Parrott probably would have a couple of appearances under his belt.

For this campaign at the north London club has thus far been fraught with problems behind the scenes and on the pitch, with Mauricio Pochettino admitting that he had never had such an unsettled squad or pre-season in almost six years at the club as wantaway players failed to get their moves.

All of which has left the Argentine with a tough job on his hands in trying to get his squad motivated and reshaping the togetherness that has been a hallmark of his team in previous years. The result as he has wrestled with the problems has been inconsistent performances and poor results.

Amid all of that is 17-year-old Parrott, dubbed 'the next Robbie Keane' back home, and a player who has been getting Spurs and Ireland fans excited with his goals for his club's development squad and his country's U21s.

Pochettino is a big fan of the teenage striker but is reluctant to throw him into the mess that is Tottenham's current campaign.

Despite the excitement around Parrott it's sometimes easy to forget that he's just 17-years-old.

The young Irishman got plenty of minutes in pre-season during Tottenham's tour to Asia and when they returned, benefiting from the departure of Fernando Llorente.

He impressed and from that point on became a regular member of the first team training squad rather than an occasional one, along with academy defender Japhet Tanganga who also shone during the summer.

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However, Pochettino was keen to play down his excitement over Parrott as the fans called for him to at least get a place on the bench early in the season.

"I think the progress [he has made] was there because he had the possibility to be involved in pre-season," Pochettino told football.london in September.

"Now he's more consistently training with the first team. But I think he needs time, we need to be relaxed. We cannot put his name in the spotlight every day because we're not going to help him by doing that. He's still so young.

"The best way to help him is to be calm and relaxed about him. If he's going to be involved, perfect. If he's going to be involved with the U23s instead, perfect. Sometimes he'll train with us, good.

"Now it's a process where he needs to be relaxed. If we put too much pressure we're going to force or push him to make a mistake and that's what we don't want."

Parrott was eventually handed his debut in the Carabao Cup, starting with Tanganga against League Two side Colchester United.

He did not look out of place. Unfortunately it was a day when Spurs struggled and his team-mates failed to create many opportunities for him.

Tottenham crashed out of the competition on penalties to their lower league hosts and with that Parrott was also robbed of further chances to play in the competition.

After the game Pochettino was again asked about the teenager.

"He needs time, he is so young. For sure he is going to be a very important player for Tottenham in the future but maybe it needs one or two years of being involved and playing in this type of game, like Japhet, like Oliver Skipp," he explained.

"Young players need the space in the squad like it was five years ago with Eric Dier, Ryan Mason, Harry Kane.

"We need to create this belief and space again for the younger players to find their natural space in the squad.

"We are still trying to fix this. We need time with the young players, we need time with the new signings like Ryan Sessegnon, like Tanguy Ndombele, it will make us stronger."

The problem for Spurs is that Parrott is now in danger of being stuck in the limbo that other young players at the club have found themselves in over recent years - too good for U23, U19 and U18 football but only taken along to first team games as the 19th man, who comes in in case of illness or injury.

It means the players end up playing very little football. Pochettino believes it is more important for someone like Parrott to train alongside Kane and get experiences of matchdays with the first team than taking on other young players he can beat easily.

Parrott banged in four goals for Spurs in the UEFA Youth League when Red Star Belgrade came to town last month but has not played a youth game since.

He was not among the U19s for the return leg in Belgrade this week as he was with the first team as that 19th man, along with Tanganga.

Kane's illness did present the Irishman with his first spot on the bench in a Premier League game when Tottenham travelled to Goodison Park on Sunday but he remained unused.

It is those in front of him who are also blocking Parrott's path right now. Kane of course is the number one striker but Son Heung-min and Lucas Moura are the next in line for the forward slot.

The pressure will continue to grow though, especially after his first call-up to Ireland's senior squad for their friendly against New Zealand and the European qualifier against Denmark.

If Parrott shines at full international level, particularly if he gets minutes against Christian Eriksen's countrymen then the clamour will only get louder.

"Troy has been pushing for this step-up for some time now and I look forward to seeing him on the training ground ahead of the New Zealand game," said Ireland boss Mick McCarthy. "I hope he pushes me to include him in that game."

The call-up to the Ireland squad is a mixed blessing for Pochettino. On one hand it's heaping more pressure on a 17-year-old and he does not want his development stunted by that burden.

On the other hand, should Parrott prove that he can handle the weight of expectation from an entire country on his shoulders then it's another test passed in Pochettino's eyes and the gamble he would take in selecting him shrinks.

There's no denying Parrott's quality. He's technically excellent on the ball, makes clever runs and decisions and the pre-season with Pochettino and the first team coaches has bulked him up and vastly increased his strength on the ball.

It's only a matter of time before the teenager makes his Premier League debut, but just how patient can Pochettino afford to be with envious eyes across Europe watching his progress?