Keith Andrews delivers his verdict on Tottenham Hotspur player’s EFL development | OneFootball

Troy Parrott grabbed the only goal of the game as the Republic of Ireland beat Lithuania in an international friendly on Tuesday evening.

The 20-year-old enters the final year of his contract at Tottenham Hotspur next season, but is going about pursuing a career at the top level the right way with consistent performances on loan at Milton Keynes Dons this term.

The versatile forward has added six goals and six assists for the Dons in all competitions and Republic of Ireland assistant manager Keith Andrews detailed the improvement he has seen in him, when he spoke to The Athletic.

He said: “Troy has been flying in training.

“There has been a real noticeable difference, I would say, in Troy between this and the last camp.

“You sometimes forget how young Troy is.

“I have a really good relationship with him.

“Up until a certain point in Troy’s career, he was just on that upward trajectory.

“And then there were a couple of loan moves but they are invaluable experiences.

“Even at MK Dons during that spell when he was a little bit out of the team he pressed the reset button and just started to work hard.

“He has got his reward for that from his club manager and what we have seen this week.

“He has been really, really sharp.

“We have a lot of belief in him.”

MK Dons has been a very popular destination for Premier League loanees in the last handful of transfer windows and Parrott is just the latest success story, who will be hoping to kick on in his career, following a temporary spell at the club.

The Verdict

Quiz: Are these 19 MK Dons facts genuine or fake?

1 of 19

MK Dons managed 65 points in 2020/21.

True False

There was a lot of hype around Parrott ahead of his unsuccessful loan spell at Millwall last season, which scaled back the pressure and expectations on his shoulders.

The Dons have one of the youngest teams in League One, with the vast majority of the squad having the potential to play higher than the third tier and with realistic aspirations to do so.

Being in the same boat as some of his team-mates appears to have helped Parrott and the consistency of his performances and contributions in the final third has improved significantly under Liam Manning.

There are a lot of exciting attacking prospects for the Republic of Ireland to mull over in the coming years and Parrott needs to ensure that he is towards the front of the queue.