Mauricio Pochettino has heaped enormous praise on Tottenham Hotspur youngster Marcus Edwards.

The Spurs boss suggests the 17-year-old, who is set to feature in Wednesday night's EFL Cup third round clash wth Gillingham, has similar attributes to Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi.

"The qualities - it's only looks, his body and the way that he plays - remember a little bit from the beginning of Messi," Pochettino said.

"He's small, he's left-footed, I remember a little bit (Erik) Lamela when he was at River Plate, remember he had long hair, when he was 14, 15 years old, there is a lot of videos on YouTube that you can see, that he took the ball, didn't give a pass and shot straight away.

"He (Edwards) is a very good prospect and potentially he can be a top player, but we need to be patient and tell him that he has a lot of talent, enough talent to be a top player, a great player.

"But now it's how he builds his future, that's very important. And it's our responsibility to tell him."