22-year-old Tottenham youngster now admits he once went against Jose Mourinho’s wishes

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Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Oliver Skipp has admitted that his former boss Jose Mourinho didn’t want him to head out on loan three years ago.

Skipp has established himself as a first-team player at Tottenham over the past couple of years after coming through the academy set-up.

The 22-year-old enjoyed a brilliant year with Norwich City in the Championship during the 2020-21 campaign. He played a key role under Daniel Farke and helped the Canaries earn promotion to the Premier League.

It’s fair to say that a year of first-team experience benefitted Skipp’s development massively as he returned to Spurs full of confidence. 

But he’s revealed to Spurs Play that Mourinho actually wanted to keep him around the first-team squad at the time.

Skipp on Mourinho

Speaking on Tottenham’s Off The Shelf Podcast, Skipp was asked about his loan spell in East Anglia.

“I think it was crucial because I’d had two years in and around the first-team getting odd starts here and there,” he said. “But it was something that I felt I needed to do.

“It’s nice training with the first-team but to get that pressure, the environment of trying to win games and play in the first-team regularly.

“It’s interesting because before I went, Mourinho rang me just before and said ‘I don’t want you to go’. But I was like ‘Ah, I’d really like to go’ and we had a discussion about it.

“Thankfully, I was grateful he let me go. I felt like I needed to go and play regular games and I perhaps wouldn’t have got the opportunity at Spurs.

“It was amazing [at Norwich] and the fit was just perfect. They were a team that were bossing the Championship that year and the manager was really good.”

Skipp was named in the Championship Team of the Season after an impressive spell at Carrow Road.

He’s struggled with injuries since returning to Spurs and has been unfortunate not to get a longer run in the side.

The youngster will undoubtedly be hoping to break into Postecoglou’s starting line-up this season and he started from the off in a pre-season friendly defeat to West Ham yesterday.