Tottenham Coach Mourinho Names Teenage Nigerian Defender In Matchday Squad Vs Watford

Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho included teenage Nigerian defender Jubril Okedina in his matchday squad as the north London club were beaten 2-1 by Watford in their final pre-season friendly on Saturday, allnigeriasoccer.com reports.

Okedina, 19, was among the eight players named to the substitutes bench but didn't get a taste of action with Tottenham chasing the game after conceding twice in the first half.

The Tottenham squad was light with several players including Steven Bergwijn, Eric Dier, Ben Davies,  Matt Doherty, Pierre-Emile Højbjerg, Ryan Sessegnon, Gedson Fernandes, Hugo Lloris, Harry Kane and Toby Alderweireld away on international duty with their respective nations, so Mourinho called up some promising academy players to join the first team.

If Okedina had featured against the Hornets, it would have been his first appearance for Tottenham's first team, albeit in a non-competitive fixture.

Domingos Quina and Andre Gray struck to give Watford a 2-0 lead before Heung-Min Son halved the deficit eleven minutes from time.

Okedina represents Tottenham U23s and was involved in their pre-season friendlies against Colchester United, Dulwich Hamlet, Crawley Town and Leyton Orient.

Watford's Nigeria U23 international Tom Dele-Bashiru put in a 64-minute shift against Mourinho's team.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel

Photo Credit : tottenhamhotspur.com