Saturday Star

Ryan Mason is clearly a name to watch

- ESHLIN VEDAN eshlin.vedan@inl.co.za MORGAN BOLTON

AT the age of 29, Tottenham interim boss

Ryan Mason became the youngest manager in Premier League history, and did so in style by leading the Lilywhites to a 2-1 Premier League win over Southampto­n last Wednesday.

Mason’s rise to the Spurs throne has been interestin­g, especially as he is younger than some of the players in his squad and a product of the Lilywhites youth developmen­t system.

A midfielder in his playing days, Mason had a modest profession­al career though it was far from extraordin­ary.

After graduating to the Spurs first-team in 2008, he spent the majority of his playing career with his boyhood club.

However, much of it was spent out on loan before he spent the final two years of his career with Hull City before retiring aged 26.

This was after suffering a fractured skull in a freak accident after a clash of heads with former Chelsea defender Gary Cahill.

Mason finally did get his big break with Spurs in the 2014/15 season after Mauricio Pochettino was appointed as its manager .

He went on to become a first-team regular at the club, making 31 appearance­s that season. He even earned an England cap against Italy in a friendly which would be his only internatio­nal appearance.

He remained a first-team regular the following season but spent the entirety of the 2016-17 season on the sidelines.

After falling down the pecking order at Spurs, he subsequent­ly moving to Hull.

The fact that Spurs have entrusted Mason with the management role, especially at his age, suggests that there is something that sets him apart from others.

Mason will not be the favourite to land the Spurs job permanentl­y as the club have already been linked with Julian Nagelsmann, Brendan Rodgers and Max Allegri, however, he will have a chance to audition for the job.

A good run of results between now and the end of the season could lead to Spurs warming up to the possibilit­y of hiring him.

If Mason does impress, fans of the Lilywhites will really welcome him as their new boss, especially considerin­g that he is a youth product of the club.

He understand­s the ins and outs of it, having spent the majority of his life affiliated to it as a youth and senior player, as well as now as a coach.

If Mason can impress, it may be music to the ears of Spurs Chairman Daniel Levy.

Levy is known to be one of the shrewdest negotiator­s in the game and Mason will not command as high a salary as the other men who are being tipped to become Jose Mourinho’s official successor.

A win over the highly-rated Saints manager Ralph Hasenhüttl in his first official game as a manager at the highest level was a good start to Mason’s managerial career.

He will have another chance to impress tomorrow by leading Spurs to their first piece of silverware since 2008.

Spurs tackle Manchester City in the final of the Carabao Cup at Wembley Stadium.

IT feels like this is the season, this is the year, this is the time that Wandisile Simelane will finally achieve his greatest transforma­tion – yes, the stage is set for the young wing to finally go – and excuse the analogy – Super Saiyan.

Simelane had an excellent season during Super Rugby Unlocked and the Currie Cup and was honestly one of the standout performers for the Lions in their run to the semi-finals of a disrupted domestic campaign.

Previously, he had been on the fringes of selection at the Lions, playing here and there, but always second fiddle to more experience­d players. Up until last season, he had played only in a handful of Super Rugby matches, but he can no longer be denied.

The 23-year-old centre has all of

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