Mauricio Pochettino has urged caution after Tottenham wonderkid Marcus Edwards starred in their 2-1 defeat by Juventus.

The 17-year-old provided a sparkling 30-minute cameo off the bench as Spurs faced the Italians in the first match of their Australian tour at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

However, his manager believes the teenager should be sheltered ahead of the new Premier League season and asked for patience.

Marcus Edwards came off the bench for Tottenham in the second half of their 2-1 defeat by Juventus

Edwards, 17, is highly regarded at Spurs and impressed during his cameo against the Serie A champions

Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino said the club must 'care for' the England Under 18 international

'I'm happy with all the young players,' he said. 'They behaved fantastically and the performance (was good) too.

'It's fair to pay attention to Marcus Edwards because he's a very talented player but we have to be careful with all the young players.

WHO IS MARCUS EDWARDS? The 17-year-old attacking midfielder shone for Spurs after coming off the bench against Juventus in Melbourne. Edwards, who has progressed through the club's youth system, quickly settled into the middle of midfield, ensuring the ball moved at pace from front to back, and exhibited an array of trickery in possession. The Londoner, educated at Winchmore Hill School in Enfield, scored seven goals in 19 appearances for Spurs' Under 18s last term but struggled to agree a new deal at White Hart Lane at the end of the season. The contract wrangle continued into the summer but, with Tottenham contemplating the possibility of losing Edwards - who was on a scholarship deal - to a major rival for nothing next year, revised terms were agreed earlier this month. Edwards has represented England at every age-group level from Under 16s to Under 18s. Advertisement

'He's only 17 years old - we need to care for him in a very good way.'

Edwards signed a new contract at White Hart Lane after an impasse which had alerted some of the Continent's top clubs.

He has starred for England Under 17s and fears were raised that he could be lured away from North London.

Under the floodlights at the 100,000-capacity arena, he showed he had an appetite for the big stage and came close to equalising as a youthful Tottenham, who had gone 2-0 down, impressed following substitute Erik Lamela's second-half strike.

Pochettino saw summer signings Victor Wanyama and Vincent Janssen make their Spurs bows, but the Italians surged into a two-goal lead thanks to strikes from Paulo Dybala and Medhi Benatia.

He thought his new boys performed well on a chilly evening in Melbourne.

'I'm happy, very happy,' Pochettino said. 'Vincent worked very hard for the team. The first half was difficult but in the second half he linked better with his team-mates.

'He was tired and we need to care for him. He needs to adapt our philosophy and our game. Victor was very good. I think that I'm very happy with both players.'

Edwards recently agreed a new contract at White Hart Lane, having previously been on scholarship terms