After highly impressing in the various age groups of the Tottenham Hotspur academy, hopes for the future of Troy Parrott amongst those in the know in north London were extremely high.

It is not difficult to understand why this was the case. Over his 15 appearances for Spurs’ under-18s, the centre-forward bagged an incredibly impressive 17 goals, also hitting nine in nine for Tottenham’s under-19 side in European action and five in 14 for the under-23s.

This form led to comparisons with current Spurs striker Harry Kane, with it being reported last year that Tottenham’s backroom staff were trying to convince Daniely Levy not to block the Irishman’s pathway to first-team football due to their faith in his ability.

However, whether or not the £3.24m-rated youngster does indeed have the same level of potential as the England captain is very much up for debate. Over two loan spells at Milwall and Ipswich Town respectively, the 20-year-old hardly took either club by storm, failing to score in 14 outings for the Lions and bagging just twice in 18 fixtures with the Tractor Boys.

Things have improved for the forward somewhat this season, with the £7k-per-week hitman beginning to find his feet over 34 League One appearances at MK Dons. He has scored five goals, registered five assists and created four big chances for his team-mates, along with taking 2.2 shots and making 1.1 key passes per game.

On Tuesday night, he also had the pleasure of scoring a dramatic late goal in the Republic of Ireland’s 1-0 friendly win over Lithuania, with the youngster’s 97th-minute rocket giving his team victory.

The Spurs academy graduate has not only improved his reputation on the pitch at Stadium MK, but also off it, with Republic of Ireland assistant manager Keith Andrews stating of Parrott’s work ethic: “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.”

As such, while the 20-year-old – who MK Dons midfielder Scott Twine claimed “runs over every blade on the pitch” and dubbed a “class” talent – undoubtedly has a long way to go if he is to emulate Tottenham’s £90m-rated Kane at some point in the future, there would appear to be similarities between the duo’s progression in north London.

Indeed, with the 28-year-old having similarly struggled on a number of lower-league loan spells in his youth, before exploding into the 243-goal Spurs sensation that he is today, there is still hope for Parrott at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. It could just be a matter of Antonio Conte giving him a chance in the team.

AND in other news: Daniel Levy had a Spurs nightmare on £204.2m “alien” who has “magic in his boots”