Oliver Skipp has no reason to fear for his Tottenham Hotspur career after former Spurs boss Tim Sherwood suggested Jose Mourinho does not rate the young midfielder.

What’s he said?

While speaking on the Kelly and Wrighty Show, Sherwood has claimed Mourinho told Spurs Chairman Daniel Levy that Skipp – along with Kyle Walker-Peters and Troy Parrott – is not good enough for the north London side immediately upon joining the club last year.

His initial assessment of the 20-year-old is believed to be the reason behind Skipp’s season-long loan deal with Norwich City, for whom he has started all 13 Championship fixtures thus far this season as the Canaries sit top of the table on 27 points.

Sherwood seems to feel Skipp will need a next-level campaign in the second-tier if he is to seal a future for himself at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, where Mourinho successfully strived to sign Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg in the summer.

“Jose Mourinho has gone in there [and said] Troy Parrott’s not good enough, Walker-Peters is not good enough, Oliver Skipp, not only not good enough, he gets rid of them. He gets them away from the football club,” claimed Sherwood.

“So, all of a sudden, now he has got a shadow of the squad and what he says to Daniel Levy, which is the biggest art in any management, is to get the owner to spend money.

“When he first went in there, Jose Mourinho, they asked him ‘do you need any players?’ He said ‘no, I am happy with the squad’. What a wonderful squad, from the outside. He goes in there, after the inks dry, and he goes to Daniel Levy ‘these are not good enough, we need this one, that one and go get me them’. And Daniel has backed him.”

Should Skipp fear for his future?

Sherwood’s claims should prove very worrisome for Skipp as Hojbjerg has thrived from the off since his £15million summer arrival, while Harry Winks lit up the stage at home to Ludogorets on Thursday night to show what he can offer when given a chance.

But Skipp is in the perfect setting to prove Sherwood wrong, as Daniel Farke is offering the Tottenham product every opportunity to not only develop his talents in a senior squad but play every game as Norwich strive to secure an immediate return to the Premier League.

Those opportunities are allowing Skipp to demonstrate how he can offer a defensive force in Mourinho’s midfield, with the 20-year-old so far averaging 6.1 duels won and 2.2 tackles per Championship game while completing 88% of his passes, per SofaScore.

Despite Sherwood’s suggestion, Mourinho has also stated his belief in Skipp’s potential, noting after he penned a new four-year contract in July that he considered the U21 international to be a captain in the making.

“I'm really happy,” Mourinho said, via quotes by the Evening Standard. "Everybody in the club is, his teammates are, I am and Skippy is or not he wouldn't sign the contract. I think he's genuinely Tottenham's future.

“In his mind he wants to go on loan, [for] six months, the whole season. He feels that he needs that, I also feel that would be good for his evolution, so maybe that is the direction we go. I think he can be more than a player; he can be a future captain here. Hugo, Harry.”

So, while Sherwood’s claim must spark fear in Skipp over his long-term future in north London, Mourinho’s words and his performances for Norwich should more than rubbish those of the former Tottenham manager.

AND in other news, a Spurs gem who isn’t “shy” has a mountain to climb if he’s to win Jose Mourinho over.