The Tottenham Hotspur winger has been speaking about another young star at the club as well as life with Roberto De Zerbi
Mikey Moore showed his maturity in his first Tottenham press conference after the 2-0 pre-season win against Auckland in New Zealand on Sunday.
The 18-year-old is back at Spurs after a big year on loan at Rangers, which saw him win the Scottish Premiership Young Player of the Season. Moore has bulked up and was an experienced head despite his age in a young Tottenham side on tour as Roberto De Zerbi wrapped his senior players in cotton wool after their 30-hour flight to the other side of the world.
Moore's future at the club this coming season remains up in the air with no European football for Tottenham and therefore a lack of minutes to go around.
"We have to see. We have to analyse the last part of the transfer market, because we try to bring wingers, and then we speak with him, with his agent, with the club, to find the best solution for everyone," De Zerbi said on the academy teenager after Moore had held his press conference.
Here's every word the teenager said in his own chat with the media, including football.london's own Alasdair Gold, at Eden Park.
How does it feel to be back at the club and playing matches for Tottenham?
Yeah, it feels good to put back on the shirt and obviously be in the club I've been at for so many years of my life. So it's been nice to be back and see all the boys and the staff. So yeah, I've enjoyed myself.
It looks like you've bulked up a bit with your time away. How much has a season with a team like Rangers, big games at a big club, how much has that physically and mentally developed you?
Yeah, I think it's developed me a lot on and off the pitch. I think mentally I've improved a lot because it was a tough, tough season with some high demands.
So yeah, I know physically it's something I needed to work on and try and get myself a little bit more explosive, a bit more powerful to be able to deal with the pressure that comes in at a higher level you can go. So yeah, I feel good.
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You're only 18, but you're a senior player to some of those young players out there because they haven't had that experience you have. Do you look at someone like Luca Williams-Barnett and talk to players like that to give them advice?
Yeah, 100% yeah. I think we're all on different journeys and we all experience different things. Obviously, I'm quite close to their age, but maybe I've experienced a bit more so far. So I feel like I can help some of the younger boys who I've played with a few years ago and kind of help them through.
Obviously, as you just mentioned him, Luca is an unbelievable footballer. So it's nice to be able to help them and they're going to find their own way through it and experience it themselves as well. I think all the younger boys enjoyed it. You saw that today, they dealt with it really well to come away and deal with having 40,000 people in the stands. It was nothing for them, the boys were top.
You haven't had a great deal of time with him yet, but what have you thought of Roberto De Zerbi and his methods, his coaching and the way he's dealt with players?
He's been unbelievable since I've been in. He's so specific with what he wants and he's very detailed in everything he does. All the boys have a clear idea of what he wants and what we need to do. So yeah, he's been unbelievable.
Coming off a loan spell last season, where do you see your future this season?
At the minute, I'm taking it day by day. It's hard for me to say right now. It kind of lies in the manager's hands. So every day I'm just going to try and impress and whatever happens, happens. So we'll see what happens at the end of the transfer window.
How do you feel like you've progressed technically and the way that you've learned the game from that period at Rangers?
I think I've come back and I've learned the men's game. I think when I first came in, I was very... I don't know, I'd only played academy football. When I came in, I just wanted to do the same. Every time I get the ball, I thought I could do what I could do in academy football. I think when I first went up the levels, that caught me out a little bit.
So now I know a bit more. I've still got so much more to improve where maybe I can lay the ball off at this point and take the man on now. But yeah, I think it was so good for me to be able to get so many games under my belt and I think I've improved a lot.
Archie Gray was your captain today, what have you made of his development and seeing the way he's coming on?
Obviously Archie will be and is a leader and he's a top, top footballer. He deserved to have the captain's armband up there today. He's one who can help the rest of the young boys through it and I think he showed that in his performance today as well. I think he was very good. So yeah, he's another very, very good footballer who has a good mentality to go with it. He was top.
What did you think of the occasion today and what did you think of Auckland FC?
Auckland had some very good players. They made it tough for us and obviously there was a massive turnout at the game, which was nice to see. So many people in the stadium, so it made it a good experience for all of us. And some of the young boys haven't experienced that many people in the stadium before.
How has your short time in New Zealand been?
It's been nice. All the people have been very welcoming and there's a big support out here. You see that when you're walking about and when you go to some of the fans' meetings and stuff. It's been nice to be over here. It's been a short stay and we'll be off now, but it's been a good time.
How hard is it to make it in the Premier League these days?
Yeah, I think it's the most demanding, the best league in the world. So it's so hard to be able to break in and there's some players who have got massive reputations and come in for massive money and you've got to try and compete with these players. It is what it is. If you want to play in the best league in the world, then you've got to be at the standard.
If you're not, then you've got to go and get experience under your belt. It's tough and it's just where everyone wants to be.
What's the mindset today when you're out there playing against players who are perhaps a couple of rungs below the level you're playing at?
The mindset's always the same. I think for me, I'd never look at a team as if they're below us, especially when I'm trying to impress someone here. So it was going out there with the same mindset as always to go and try and win the game and try to put the best performance in possible.