Three years on, Marcus Edwards will return to Tottenham for the first time since leaving the club back in the summer of 2019 with a big point to prove.
The 23-year-old has come up against his former club once already in the Champions League, where he produced a man-of-the-match performance for Sporting Lisbon in a 2-0 victory over Spurs last month.
The winger will be hoping for a similar outcome on Wednesday night. If that’s the case he will put a major dent into Tottenham’s hopes of sealing progression to the last-16 of the competition.
Marcus Edwards will return to north London, three years after his release from Tottenham
Edwards produced a man-of-the-match performance for Sporting in a 2-0 victory over Spurs
Edwards, who was once likened to superstar Lionel Messi at just 17, could play a vital role in Spurs’ destiny in Europe as well as his own club’s this week.
His return comes with Tottenham and Sporting Lisbon separated by just a single point with two matches left in the group stage. With just four points between every team in the group, the winner of this fixture should cement their place in the knock-out stages.
But it has been a long road to this stage for Edwards, who left Spurs in the summer of 2019 in the shadow of the club’s first appearance in a Champions League final after making just one senior appearance.
The winger could play a vital role in Spurs’ destiny in Europe, as well as his own club’s this week
Injuries halted his progress at key stages and a loan move to Norwich went badly and ended prematurely, although a season with Excelsior in Rotterdam was more encouraging and set the seed for a move overseas.
The winger trained with Brentford, was linked with Udinese, before eventually signing for Vitoria Guimaraes in Portugal where his reinvention began.
Edwards only made one appearance for Tottenham before eventually being released in 2019
Edwards notched 20 goals and provided 14 assists in 85 appearances for Vitoria, which earned him a move to Sporting in January of this year.
Sporting paid almost £9m to sign the 23-year-old from Vitoria in 2019 and agreed to Tottenham transferring his 50 per cent sell-on clause, rather than putting the deal at risk and the English club pocketing just £4.5m from that transfer.
Edwards joined Sporting in January on a contract that runs until 2026 and contains a release clause worth just under £52million, which means Spurs could one day bank half of that fee.
He then broke into the Sporting Lisbon team, making 15 appearances, where he scored three goals and added a further three assists during the second-half of last season.
But this season, Edwards has taken his performances to new heights and become a regular for Lisbon, already making 15 appearances in all competitions so far this campaign.
The winger notched 20 goals and provided 14 assists in 85 appearances for Vitoria Guimaraes
Edwards has scored four goals and provided five assists already for Sporting this campaign
He has scored four goals and added five assists in that time, impressing in both the domestic league and the Champions League, especially with his display against Tottenham last time round.
The former England youth product may not have got himself on the scoresheet in their 2-0 victory over Spurs, but his impact on the match was evident.
Edwards was running the game with one real stand-out moment in the first-half that was praised by everyone in the BT Sport studio.
He picked the ball up just inside the opposition half, surged towards goal and danced around several Spurs players as he did so. Challenges came flying in but he avoided them in magical fashion.
After playing a one-two with Francisco Trincao, Edwards wriggled away from a couple more defenders before his close-range shot was kept out by Hugo Lloris.
Edwards surged towards goal and danced around several Spurs players during the last match
BT Sport co-commentator Owen Hargreaves was asked by commentator Ian Darke about whether Edwards was in line for a England call-up at the half-time break during that fixture.
‘How can he not when he’s playing like that?’ Hargreaves replied.
‘There were loads of internationals and he was the best player on the pitch. That’s what you want as a player, an opportunity. He can play in different positions.
‘He’s playing as a false nine really well and can play as a number 10. He just takes the ball so well. I think there’s always a space for a player like that in the team.’
Owen Hargreaves has tipped the 23-year-old to earn a call up to the England senior squad
Peter Crouch and Jermaine Jenas both agreed that Edwards is in contention for a potential call-up.
‘This was spectacular,’ Peter Crouch said. ‘There’s not many passages of play that have all of us on our feet and we were at this moment. I know we’ve got a foot in the Spurs camp but this was an unbelievable run.
‘So much technique and ability, just couldn’t manage the finish. But an amazing passage of play.’
Fellow BT Sport pundit Peter Crouch was equally wowed by Edwards’ ‘spectacular’ display
Jermaine Jenas added: ‘It’s one of those runs just from a football purist’s side of things, you look at it and go “go on then, finish it”. You’ve done everything right, it’s incredible. The body swerving, the movement, the control.
‘You’ve got to give credit to Lloris, last line of defence. Gets a real decent arm, a bit of luck. But it’s a big, big save.’
Edwards is also being linked with numerous Premier League clubs as a result of his impressive form.
But his first challenge will be to put in another stellar performance against Spurs. Not only to prove them wrong for releasing him, but to help Sporting Lisbon progress in the Champions League.
