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Ruben Amorim is one of the best coach I’ve ever had and WILL lead Man United again to the highest …here is what it is actually prefer to play for him and the one ‘magical’ contact essential to his model, reveals ex-Tottenham wonderkid Marcus Edwards

  • Edwards insists Amorim won’t suffer fools – and explains his demanding style that has seen the likes of Marcus Rashford banished from his Man United squad
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For Marcus Edwards the time feels right to leave Lisbon. It has been home for three years, a period during which he has blossomed as a footballer and won the Portuguese title.

Edwards, hailed as Mini Messi by Mauricio Pochettino at Tottenham, came of age at Sporting under Ruben Amorim, fulfilling much of his vast potential after leaving English football as a teenager, and has eyes fixed on another challenge.

‘I’m just turned 26 and ready for the next phase of my career,’ as he tells Mail Sport. ‘My contract is up at the end of next season, and I feel like it’s the right time for me to try something different, change my environment, try something new.

‘I’ve been six years in Portugal. It’s been good for my development. I feel like I’m hitting my prime years, 26, 27, 28. I’m ready for the next step and looking to fight to win more trophies. I’m ambitious and I feel like I’ve a lot left to give.’

Where that will be remains to be seen. Although the options beginning to take shape in this January transfer market include the tempting prospect of a return to England and the chance to finally prove himself in the Premier League.

‘It’s always been my dream,’ says Enfield-born Edwards, whose experience of senior English football amounts to a League Cup debut for Spurs against Gillingham in 2016 and one Championship game on loan at Norwich, before joining Vitoria Guimaraes in 2019.

Marcus Edwards helped Sporting win the Portuguese title last season

Marcus Edwards helped Sporting win the Portuguese title last season

He credits Amorim with teaching him 'high-level football' and as his best ever coach

He credits Amorim with teaching him ‘high-level football’ and as his best ever coach

Edwards joined Vitoria Guimaraes from Spurs and scored against rivals Arsenal in 2019

Edwards joined Vitoria Guimaraes from Spurs and scored against rivals Arsenal in 2019

He scored 20 times for them including at the Emirates against his former club’s fierce rivals Arsenal in the Europa League, before Amorim brought him to Sporting for £6.5million in January 2022. Edwards has scored 24 times in 120 appearances in the Portuguese capital, winning the title last season.

‘The Premier League, everyone knows is the best in the world so to come back home and play there with family and friends around me is something I’d like to do in my career. My mind isn’t totally focused on that. I’m open to new adventures. I’m open to all challenges that come my way.’

He has proved that much. He was a teenage sensation tipped for great things as he made his way through the Spurs academy. Pochettino loved his low centre of gravity and ability to beat opponents on the ball in tight spaces but quickly came to regret likening him to Lionel Messi.

After the disappointment at Norwich, he had a better loan spell at Excelsior in the Netherlands before the permanent switch to Vitoria de Guimaraes in Portugal.

In October 2022, he returned in those famous Sporting hoops to score against Tottenham in the Champions League and remind them what they let go with a trademark goal, collecting the ball on halfway, accelerating and finding the net with lethal accuracy from 20 yards.

He still regards it as his favourite goal, not least because it proved to those at Spurs that he could harness all that natural talent and make it effective. Much of that he puts down to Amorim.

‘The best coach I’ve had,’ says Edwards. ‘He took my game to a new level. I really came to understand high-level football when I was around him. That helped me improve my game and there are things he implemented in me I will take with me for the rest of my career.

‘I was 23 when I came in, and the mindset of how he coaches, the drills, the intensity, the running, everything, just took my game to a new level. Standards were high, and nothing ever slipped because you knew he would take you out of the team. You had to come in training every day like it’s a game.’

Edwards' form for Vitoria earned him a £6.5million move to Amorim's Sporting in 2022

Edwards’ form for Vitoria earned him a £6.5million move to Amorim’s Sporting in 2022

Edwards came back to haunt his old club in 2022, scoring at Spurs in the Champions League

Edwards came back to haunt his old club in 2022, scoring at Spurs in the Champions League

The Enfield-born 26-year-old is ready for a new challenge after almost six years in Portugal

The Enfield-born 26-year-old is ready for a new challenge after almost six years in Portugal

Those words might ring a bell with Marcus Rashford, frozen out at Manchester United by the manager over a perceived lack of application and, seemingly, with no way back as the new boss looks to instil discipline into the squad.

The approach worked for Amorim at Sporting where he cast his spell and ended a 19-year wait for the title in 2021 and won it again last year.

‘He was critical of himself,’ says Edwards. ‘If the team hadn’t won or played well, he looked at himself first before the players.

‘The way he was with us, and motivated us, we wanted to play for him, wanted to win for him, wanted to run for him, that’s the kind of energy he gave us.

‘It was very demanding but the very close relationship he had with his players and the whole environment was magical in a way. The way he understood us and understood the club. He completely changed the club around, the whole culture.

‘He put Sporting back where they should be, challenging every year for the title. He will do well at Manchester United. Just give him some time.’

Amorim mostly deployed him on the right of his pair of creative playmakers, behind the centre forward in a 3-4-2-1 formation, although Edwards has not featured much since his mentor moved to Old Trafford in November.

Sporting struggled under his initial successor Joao Pereira, who was replaced within two months by Rui Borges. ‘It has taken time to recover,’ says Edwards. ‘When a manager like that leaves it’s almost strange. You never think he will leave. We had a rough patch but with the new coach and his new tactics we’re back doing well.’

Edwards made just one appearance for Tottenham, in a 5-0 League Cup win in 2016

Edwards made just one appearance for Tottenham, in a 5-0 League Cup win in 2016

Mauricio Pochettino labelled Edwards (centre) 'Mini Messi' when he was in Spurs' academy

Mauricio Pochettino labelled Edwards (centre) ‘Mini Messi’ when he was in Spurs’ academy

Edwards (right) has been limited to just 10 appearances in all competitions this season

Edwards (right) has been limited to just 10 appearances in all competitions this season

The disjointed season has contributed to Edwards thinking the time is right for a fresh start of his own, to take the winning mindset instilled by Amorim and test it elsewhere.

‘Last season was a real eye-opener for me,’ says Edwards. ‘Winning the title made me a lot more ambitious about my own career and made me realise that the goal in football is to win trophies for the club you’re at.

‘Every game is must-win at Sporting. Very intense. Draw and it’s like a low. That’s a title-winning mindset and it changes your approach to games and that will stay with me when I move on.

‘The whole experience of being here has helped me. Not only the football but everyone in the building at Sporting, the staff, they have made me feel like I was part of the family. The whole challenge of winning the title, going into every game like a war, all those moments I will cherish. I will always be a Sporting fan and will always appreciate my time there.’

Edwards made 49 appearances for England in the youth ranks from Under 16s to Under 20s, growing up in the company of Premier League stars such as Trent Alexander-Arnold, Reece James and Mason Mount.

He was part of the team that won the Under 19 Euros in 2017 and he is keen to show new England boss Thomas Tuchel he has matured into a player worthy of consideration for full international honours.

‘I’ve always felt a pride pulling on an England jersey,’ says Edwards, who is also eligible for Cyprus through his mother. ‘Everyone wants to play for their country and that’s definitely in my sights. I’m still only young in terms of my career and excited to aim for the levels I know I can reach.’