ENFIELD, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 23: Marcus Edwards of Tottenham Hotspur and Vlad Dragomir of Arsenal during the Premier League 2 game between Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal on October 23, 2017 in Enfield, England. (Photo by Henry Browne/Getty Images)

Tottenham may give up on Marcus Edwards soon

When Tottenham made the decision to allow Marcus Edwards move to Norwich in January the hope was the talented midfielder would get a first team education with the Canaries. Unfortunately, it’s March and the English starlet still hasn’t made an appearance for the Championship club.

Norwich manager Daniel Farke continues to reiterate his belief that Edwards needs to improve his work off the ball if he’s going to get meaningful match time. That’s a similar refrain to what Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino has said about the creative attacker. It’s easy to see that Edwards is running out of time to fulfill his destiny with Spurs.

Simply put, if he can’t get on the field for Norwich there’s very little hope of him breaking into the Tottenham first team within the next 12 months. I suppose a summer transformation is possible for the diminutive midfielder, but it’s pretty unlikely. It’s plain to see that Edwards’ career is stuck in the mud.

Spurs simply have too many talented options in the midfield to give Edwards an opportunity. Pochettino is committed to giving young players a chance to succeed at Spurs, but only when they are working hard enough to deserve a chance. Edwards’ utter inability to impress at Norwich makes it plain he isn’t anywhere near Tottenham’s first team at the moment.

To crack Pochettino’s senior squad Edwards would need to supplant the likes of Lucas Moura and Erik Lamela to earn a spot on the Tottenham bench. Lamela draws a lot of criticism from Spurs fans on social media, but there’s no question that his defensive work rate is exemplary. Edwards would be wise to learn something from that aspect of the Argentine’s game.

The distance between Edwards and Lucas may be even greater. The former PSG star is still adjusting to life under Pochettino, but he’s already shown signs of being a high-impact substitute for Spurs. It’s very unlikely his role will do anything other than grow as he becomes more accustomed to life in the Premier League.

Add it all up and the short-term prognosis for Edwards at Tottenham is bleak. He desperately needs to find a way to rejuvenate his flailing career at Norwich before this season comes to a close. Even if he puts on a show at Norwich he’ll still need a great summer to earn a spot in Pochettino’s side next year. Would anyone really fancy his odds of pulling that off at the moment?

Marcus Edwards is in real danger of throwing away a once very promising Tottenham career. If things don’t improve quickly for the English starlet at Norwich, he may permanently lose his chance of being a Spurs star forever.