GettyTroy Parrott in the Tottenham shirt
NOS Voetbal•vandaag, 13:51
For Troy Parrott, AZ’s third match in the Europa League is a special one. Tonight’s match against Tottenham Hotspur means a reunion for the Irish attacker with the club he was in contact with between 2017 and 2024.
At Wednesday evening’s press conference, Parrott looked back on his time in London with a positive feeling. “The club has always been good to me and I had a good time there.”
For the striker of the Alkmaarders, Tottenham Hotspur is the club where his football dream came true. Parrott left Ireland at the age of 15 to play for Spurs’ youth academy. On his seventeenth birthday, he signed his first professional contract in London, after which he made his debut in the Premier League on December 7, 2019 with a substitute appearance against Burnley.
A breakthrough in the English football mecca was not forthcoming.
Premier League debut
The striker, popular with fans, was loaned out to Millwall, Ipswich Town, MK Dons, Preston North End and Excelsior from 2020 onwards. Last summer he left Tottenham Hotspur behind for a job at AZ. He has so far scored six goals in eleven official matches for the Alkmaar team.
The striker is clear about the highlight of his London period. “The day I made my debut in the Premier League. That’s what I always dreamed of…”
AZ striker Parrott back at Tottenham: ‘This is where it all started’
Does tonight’s match feel like coming home for Parrott? “A little bit. Not a lot because I haven’t played much here. But this is where it all started.”
“There are certainly still people active that I like. I have some friends in the team and there are people on the staff with whom I have a good relationship.”
Difficult match
The striker expects a tough evening against the current number seven in the Premier League. “It will certainly be a difficult match for us. But we want to test ourselves against the big teams and see what we can achieve.”
Despite the warm feelings, Parrott wants to hurt his old club: “Of course I want to score and ultimately win the match.”
Tottenham Hotspur-AZ at NOS
The matches in the Europa League can be followed on Thursday via a live blog on NOS.nl and in the NOS app and via the scores on Teletekst. The matches with the Dutch clubs are in the radio program Along the Line and Surrounding Areas can be followed on NPO Radio 1 with on-the-spot commentary.
In wide NOS News a summary of the matches of the Dutch clubs will be shown.
Ajax plays first on Thursday evening, at 6.45 pm at FK Qarabag. At 9 p.m. FC Twente will take on Lazio Roma at home and AZ will play away at Tottenham Hotspur.
