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Mauricio Pochettino has once again waxed lyrical about Tottenham teenager Marcus Edwards, claiming that being English is counting against the starlet's reputation.

The Spurs manager turned some heads by

ahead of his first-team debut in the EFL Cup win over Gillingham.

But he has continued with his effusive praise of the youngster, and insisted that if he weren't from Great Britain then people around the world would be far more excited by the midfielder's potential

"It is cultural," Pochettino explained. "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. Maybe all the big teams would be fighting to buy him.

"But he is at Tottenham, he is in England and, at 17, he is still a kid. We cannot appreciate he is a man, nearly a man, and he deserves to play.

(Image: The FA via Getty) (Image: The FA via Getty)

"That is the cultural difference. The Premier League is one of the stronger financial leagues, and Tottenham -- like Liverpool and all the clubs -- prefer to buy experience and quality, bring a player who is 24, 23 or 26 that performs quickly, rather than give time to the younger players and wait to build a prospect like Marcus Edwards.

"That is the balance. Tottenham is in a different project. Of course, we bring in players but we try to give the opportunity to the younger players who have potential one day to be in the first team.

"It is for the clubs to sell the players as they need the money to survive. In Argentina if you are 19 or 20 and you haven't made your debut people think you are not a good player. It is a completely different vision of football."

(Image: Getty) (Image: Getty)

Before sending Edwards on for his senior debut in September, Pochettino had revealed how the diminutive playmaker reminded him of Messi, as well as Spurs teammate Erik Lamela.

"The qualities - it's only looks, his body and the way that he plays - remind me a little bit of the beginning of Messi," Pochettino said.

"He's small, he's left-footed, I remember a little bit [Erik] Lamela when he was at River Plate, remember he had long hair, when he was 14, 15 years old, there is a lot of videos on YouTube that you can see, that he took the ball, didn't give a pass and shot straight away."

Video: A 12-year-old Erik Lamela speaks to Trans World Sport