Tottenham Hotspur boss Mauricio Pochettino feels his young striker Kazaiah Sterling will be served much better remaining at the club to learn from Harry Kane, rather than leaving on loan next season.

Tottenham used to adopt a policy whereby the club's academy graduates were encouraged to leave White Hart Lane on loan to gain first-team opportunities in the Football League. Current first-team stars Kyle Walker and Danny Rose had spells away from the club before establishing themselves at right-back and left-back respectively with Harry Kane shipped out four times between 2011 and 2013 before becoming the club's star player.

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Pochettino has opted for a different approach, with the club's young prospects routinely training with the senior squad and frequently included in the manager's first-team plans.

Harry Winks, Josh Onomah and Cameron Carter-Vickers have all been part of Pochettino's first-team squad this season with the Argentine suggesting 18-year-old Sterling will be afforded the same treatment next season.

"I prefer to have our young players here and offer them the potential to be first‑team players," Pochettino said ahead of Sunday's FA Cup quarter-final clash against Millwall, the Guardian report. "If you don't get the opportunities – like Harry and some other players – to be involved with the first team it is best to move. But when you give those players the opportunity to train with the senior squad that is an even better experience."

kazaiah sterling
Sterling will train with the senior squad next season, says Pochettino. Getty

After naming Sterling, Pochettino added: "It means every day there is an under-18 striker training with Harry Kane. There is no better teacher to learn from.

"Where would we send him? It would be a completely different philosophy. If you don't have the opportunity to train every day with the first team, it is true it is good to grow up in another place and come back. But here we try to provide the facility to train with the first team for any player who can cope with the pressure."

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