Mauricio Pochettino to rotate squad for League Cup clash but says Marcus Edwards is not ready for Tottenham’s first team

Mauricio Pochettino has revealed that, while he considers the League Cup an important competition, he will be rotating his side for Tottenham’s Third Round tie with Barnsley on Tuesday, but there won’t be a chance for starlet Marcus Edwards.

Spurs have a packed fixture list to contend with having played Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League last Wednesday and with a trip to Cyprus coming up in just over a week’s time, but Pochettino insists that he remains focussed on the League Cup.

“I think every single competition is important for us for different reasons,” he said.

“When you have the possibility to play four competitions, it’s important to play every single game. For us it’s a priority too.

“Tomorrow we want to win and we are going to play to win. We want to go as far as possible in this competition.”

While the Argentine insists the competition is of importance, he also admitted that there would be changes, with younger players in line to get a chance.

“For different reasons I will rotate the team. But in the end it’s Tottenham that is going to play, like in different competitions.

“Maybe to give the possibility to play for a player that doesn’t play too much I think it’s a good possibility to see them and try to give the possibility to maybe fight to be in the starting XI more regularly.”

Pochettino also confirmed that Georges-Kevin Nkoudou and young midfielder Tashan Oakley-Boothe could be involved, while Harry Winks and deadline day signing Fernando Llorente could be in for their first starts of the season.

However, while fringe players could be getting a chance to impress, Pochettino has suggested that for Edwards, arguably the brightest light in the Spurs academy, it may not be the best of ideas to make the step up to the first team.

On the 18-year-old, Pochettino said: “We’re so happy because he played very well against Man United and then, in the Youth Cup, he was very good.

"But I think we need to wait a little bit for him to build more his physical condition and his confidence.

"He’s better playing in the Under-23s or the Youth Cup than staying with us, maybe on the bench."