Oliver Skipp: Spurs’ on-loan midfielder finding form at Norwich

For Oliver Skipp, the decision to head out on loan and gain experience away from Tottenham was his own.

The 20-year-old’s eagerness to move to Norwich exhibits the maturity of the young midfielder, refusing to sit around at Spurs and play a bit-part role. Having made 15 Premier League appearances over the last two seasons since his debut against Southampton in December 2018, the next natural progression was regular game time.

This opportunity may not have been afforded to him under Mauricio Pochettino, with the Argentine manager preferring to keep young players around the squad. Kyle Walker-Peters’ progress was stunted by this method, and the defender only started to show his quality consistently when loaned to Southampton. 

He’s certainly getting minutes. Skipp has played 1197 of a possible 1260 in the Championship this season for the Canaries, including all 90 on Saturday against Coventry.

Ahead of the match, Skipp warmed up next to midfield partner Alexander Tettey, the two providing City’s defensive base for the afternoon.

In Tettey, the Tottenham loanee has an experienced pro next to him, having played the defensive midfield role in both the Premier League and on the international stage.

Sitting in the stands at Carrow Road, the abilities of the young midfielder were evident. Skipp demands the ball from his teammates, is comfortable receiving possession under pressure and completed 95 percent of his 76 passes attempted against the Sky Blues.

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Despite coming across as a quiet lad, a pound of his chest was directed at goalkeeper Michael McGovern after the ‘keeper decided to kick long instead of feed the ball into him. With Norwich fans still not able to take their place in the ground until after December 2nd, Skipp could be heard talking his teammates through the ball regularly.

Whether that be instructing Jacob Sørensen to stay high in the left-back position as he covered, encouraging teammates or commanding them to keep the ball, Skipp was vocal throughout the fixture and has already established himself as a mainstay in the Norwich starting line-up.

The youngster’s manager at his parent club, Jose Mourinho, often speaks about the varying types of leaders. Skipp appears an unassuming character on and off the field, who contributes to both phases whilst playing with energy. His tackling and recovery of the ball often drew shouts of ‘Skippy!’ from the stands as his teammates applauded, the young midfielder leading by example with his professionalism and game intelligence.

The ‘Special One’ is a keen admirer of the England Under-21 international and touted him as a future Spurs captain after Skipp signed a new deal until 2024 in July.

“I think he’s genuinely Tottenham’s future. He’s one of these players by human quality, by personality, he is one of these kids that I have no doubt he will be an important player for Tottenham.

“I think he can be more than a player, he can be a future captain here. Hugo, Harry. I see this kid being one day a future captain here by his character, by his personality. I feel really happy that he signed.” – Jose Mourinho when asked about Oliver Skipp’s potential at Spurs

A moan at referee Keith Stroud prompted the midfielder to be warned with retribution, a side of Skipp’s game that Mourinho loves his players to master.

Despite Norwich’s midfield two patrolling the centre well, the absences of Jordan Hugill, Teemu Pukki and Adam Idah meant Marco Stiepermann started as a false nine for the Canaries.

With their striker depth depleted, Coventry had greater attacking potency than Norwich throughout the contest and Fantaky Dabo’s crosses from the right were providing opportunities in the first half for the Sky Blues, most notably for Jamie Allen.

Glancing to Skipp’s heatmap, the midfielder doesn’t venture into the final third often. When he did against Coventry, his impact was effective. With Tettey as protection, a neat flick and then cross from Skipp set up a chance for Josh Martin to score, his strike forcing Ben Wilson into making a smart save.

His low crosses were a feature of the first half as Norwich looked to extend their unbeaten run to ten. They were presented with a golden opportunity to make strides towards that feat when Stroud awarded a penalty for a foul on Przemyslaw Placheta. Mario Vrancic stepped up and sent Wilson the wrong way to make it 1-0.

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Despite his ability to progress play, ‘Skippy’ did gift possession to Coventry in the defensive third on occasion. The majority of these were from progressive passes, which Daniel Farke may well encourage of his midfielders in his possession-based style.

A feature of Skipp’s game is his one and two-touch play. It’s rare to see Skipp delay his pass and halt Norwich’s advancing up the pitch. The tempo asked of him within Farke’s system should suit the demands of the Premier League on his return to Spurs.

Spotting Marco Vrancic’s run in his eyeline, a reverse ball from Skipp demonstrated his range of passing. Unfortunately for Norwich, the Bosnian was unable to create a clear cut chance of the effort, a frustration that rumbled throughout the game.

His experiences in the Championship will undoubtedly prove crucial to his development. Norwich were penned back by Coventry for much of the game and had to defend diligently, using possession effectively when gained in the late stages.

Despite the solidity in midfield, Coventry did eventually find their goal late on through substitute Maxime Biamou. A switch from Gustavo Hamer found Ryan Giles to cross in, the initial effort from Biamou saved before the striker reacted first to hammer home the rebound.

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As disappointing as the result is for Norwich, who could have extended their lead at the top of the table to three, the midfield pairing of Skipp and Tettey stood out as a positive for the Canaries.

Skipp’s name was unlucky not to be in Norwich’s Twitter poll for Man of the Match, a vote often hijacked by Spurs fans offering support to the midfielder.

In spite of the positive results of the loan, from a Norwich perspective, you could understand some apprehension on agreeing the deal. The loan spell of previous Spurs academy star Marcus Edwards proved disastrous in 2018, which left Daniel Farke questioning the winger’s attitude.

Speaking to Norwich fan James Rushmore, he described Skipp’s loan move as one of the most successful of recent years for the Canaries.

“He’s been a really solid addition to the team and one of the most consistent performers this season.

“The role he operates in has been an issue for Norwich for a few years now. They’ve tried (and failed many times) to find a younger replacement for Alex Tettey, with the most recent failure being [Ibrahim] Amadou on loan last season.

Whilst he doesn’t have the stature of Tettey, he essentially does the same role, he breaks up play. That’s not to say he’s the finished product, he’s still a bit of a rough diamond and has improvement to make.” – Norwich fan James Rushmore (@James_Rushmore1) on Skipp’s loan move.

Back in north London, Tottenham sit second in the Premier League and are being touted as potential title challengers under Mourinho.

There could be a case for Skipp to return in January. Despite the success of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Spurs remain reliant on the Dane in the holding midfield role. Should the summer signing get injured before now and the winter window, there would be no surprise if Skipp was recalled to N17.

Combative in the tackle whilst possessing the ability to slide passes into the attacking players, Skipp could provide genuine depth for Tottenham next season.

For now, Canaries fans will hope his consistency in midfield continues as they aim for an immediate return to the Premier League.

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