Excelsior midfielder Jeffry Fortes says he has never played with a better player than Tottenham Hotspur loanee Marcus Edwards and believes Mauricio Pochettino did not compare him to Lionel Messi for nothing.

Edwards, who joined the Eredivisie outfit on a season-long deal last summer, initially struggled to make a lasting impression at the club early on in the season.




However, the winger has started in every league game since the turn of the year and produced a match-winning display during his last outing against Emmen on Sunday.

The 20-year-old scored and grabbed an assist as Excelsior came from behind in the second half to secure maximum points against Dick Lukkien’s visitors at the Van Donge & De Roo Stadion in Rotterdam.
 


And after his impressive display in the Eredivisie, Fortes has hailed Edwards, saying that Pochettino did not compare him to Messi without good reason.

The Excelsior midfielder feels that Edwards is the best player he has experienced in his career and compared his special movement with the ball to that of Messi.
 

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"He is of a different level, what he can do is really not normal”, Fortes told Dutch magazine Voetbal International.

“I haven’t experienced a better player in my career.

“Mauricio Pochettino did not make that comparison with Messi for nothing.

"He was referring to his way of moving and there is really something in it."

Edwards, who will enter the final year of his contract in the summer, has featured prominently for England across various age groups.