Spurs striker sold for £6.7m tipped as next Harry Kane now has seven goals in four games

Former Tottenham Hotspur youngster Troy Parrott is living up to his tag as 'the next Harry Kane' in the Netherlands after scoring seven goals in four games for AZ Alkmaar.

Parrot, 23, left Spurs to join Alkmaar for £6.7 million in July 2024 with Spurs inserting a hefty sell-on clause in the deal. He joined Tottenham in 2017 as a 15-year-old from Irish side Belvedere, but despite plenty of hype, he was only able to make four appearances for the first team.

Dubbed as Ireland's best prospect since ex-Tottenham star Robbie Keane, the forward was also hailed as the next Kane while on the books at Spurs due to the pair's similarities on the pitch.

While he failed to live up to such a lofty label in north London, the Irishman is now justifying the excitement around him in Holland with some prolific performances. Parrott was also part of the AZ side that was beaten by Spurs on the club's run to Europa League glory last season.

Parrott has scored three goals in two games with Finnish side Ilves Tampere and two against Vaduz of Liechtenstein, both in Europa Conference League qualifying this summer. He also scored a brace in AZ's 4-1 win over FC Groningen in the opening match of the Dutch Eredivisie at the weekend.

Parrot spent five loan spells away from the club while at Spurs with Millwall, Ipswich, MK Dons and Preston, all with varying degrees of success.

However, it was a loan to the Eredivisie with Excelsior that really kicked off his career. The striker scored 17 goals for the struggling side as they slipped to relegation from the Dutch top flight. He has also made 29 senior appearances for the Republic of Ireland, scoring five goals.

But what did he make of those heavy comparisons to Kane? He told The Athletic in April 2022 that he was adamant he was going to forge his own path.

“Obviously I want to be my own player," he said. "But Kane is so good in terms of his finishing, his passing — why wouldn’t I try and take little bits from there?

“But it’s not only taking bits from Kane because he plays for Tottenham. It’s taking things wherever you can that will make you better. It’s not annoying in any way [the comparisons], it’s just how it is. When you see him on TV you don’t get to see him going to the gym before training, you don’t get to see the way he trains every day.

“That’s something everyone should take. There’s no downside to having that relentlessness in your game. I look at that and think to be at that level these are the things you need to do.”

Spurs are now ramping up their search for attacking firepower with the departure of club icon Son Heung-Min and the devastating injury to James Maddison, which could potentially keep him on the sidelines for the majority of the season.

So far, Spurs boss Thomas Frank has made five summer signings, with the permanent transfers of Mohammed Kudus, Mathys Tel, Kevin Danso, Luka Vuskovic and Kota Takai. Spurs have also completed a loan move for defensive midfielder Joao Palhinha from Bayern Munich.

A transfer for Manchester City winger Savinho has recently gathered momentum. Moves for Crystal Palace’s Eberechi Eze and Leicester City’s Bilal El Khannouss have also been rumoured.

Meanwhile, Spurs did insert a 20% sell-on clause in the deal that took Parrott to AZ. The club are hopeful they can pocket from a further sale of Parrott or even swoop to bring the young star back to north London on a cut-price deal - something they could potentially consider in their ongoing hunt for more goals.

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