Every pre-season at Tottenham there is at least one academy starlet who grabs an opportunity for the year ahead.
Never more so is that the case that when a fresh pair of eyes arrives in the head coach role, with a new boss who might see something that others have not. Often the new man wants to lay claim to having given someone in the academy a chance, a project of sorts.
Under Mauricio Pochettino it was Harry Winks who got his opportunity while Jose Mourinho took a shine to Oliver Skipp. Recent managers have given Spurs youngsters their breakthrough after impressing in pre-season, Will Lankshear getting some early opportunities under Ange Postecoglou last season amid the injury chaos.
This summer brings another fresh slate for those young players looking to impress Thomas Frank and the club’s European squad problems with a complete lack of outfield club-trained senior stars means that some will be needed for the season ahead in the Champions League to bolster the squad.
Here are nine Tottenham academy products that Frank will want to take a close look at next month. We’re not including Ashley Phillips, Yang Min-hyeok or the incoming Luka Vuskovic here because they’re not academy products.
Mikey Moore
This could be an important season in Mikey Moore’s development. He is approaching his 18th birthday in August and with Spurs looking at further attacking transfers this summer, it would make some sense to let the teenager go out and experience a full season of regular football.
However, those pesky homegrown issues are likely to make Tottenham think twice about letting the gifted young attacker out of those Hotspur Way doors. The Frank factor, with his past in developing teenagers within the Danish FA set-up as well as at Brondby and Brentford, will also play a part as they will want him to continue Moore’s development.
For Moore is one of the club’s most prized young talents and has just finished his time with England at the European U19 Championships, which included an ankle sprain that he returned to the bench from in the final game. He had impressed up until that point in the tournament and the team missed him as they exited in the group stages.
The 17-year-old needs to continue to develop physically as he grows, as he was outmuscled at times in the Premier League in what was a breakthrough season with 19 appearances for Spurs around a virus that knocked him for six late last year. However, he showed enough glimpses of the talent he can become and he is likely to be handed a new contract with that new birthday as youth players often do.
Jamie Donley
It was a season to remember for Jamie Donley as the 20-year-old took League One by storm with Leyton Orient. He overcame an awkward start when boss Richie Wellens didn’t seem to quite know what he had at his disposal until he finally did realise as Donley knuckled down and showed him.
The result was 19 goal involvements in 48 matches which doesn’t include that remarkable shot from the halfway line that forced a Stefan Ortega own goal in the FA Cup tie against Manchester City which had Pep Guardiola praising Donley. In the end there was play-off heartbreak for Orient but the versatile Donley came out of the season with a lot of credit.
football.london understands that Spurs are currently rebuffing loan advances for Donley, who has four years left on his contract, and will reassess his situation later in the summer after Frank has got a chance to work with him on the training pitches in pre-season.
Donley has got a wand of a left foot and can play in multiple positions across the midfield and attack so will take any opportunity to play for his boyhood club.
Dane Scarlett
It seems crazy to say for a 21-year-old but this feels like a make-or-break season for Dane Scarlett in terms of what comes next for him at Tottenham.
The striker has been the next big thing at Spurs for years now and has been heralded by a string of managers without quite igniting either for the club or out on loan. He now has just two years left on his contract although as with most youth contracts at the club it might contain an option for a further 12 months.
Last season did bring that first goal for the north London outfit in the Europa League win against Elfsborg and Scarlett also managed two assists in his four other games for Spurs after returning from Oxford, where he scored four times in 20 Championship appearances.
Within Tottenham people rave about Scarlett’s finishing and his hold-up play has improved and the delight for him among the players when he finally netted that first goal was there for all to see. The need for a homegrown forward kept around the club is likely to see either him or Will Lankshear stick around for the first half of the season and whichever path Scarlett takes after Frank’s decision, he needs to grab the opportunity.
Will Lankshear
Will Lankshear is a year behind Scarlett and has only just experienced his first loan spell, spending half the season at West Brom but has also already netted his first goal for Tottenham in the Europa League defeat at Galatasaray, which was swiftly followed by his first red card.
The 20-year-old finisher has a long deal like Donley until 2029 and there is time for him to continue to develop as he is a raw product right now. football.london understands West Brom are interested in taking Lankshear back again this season, with Ryan Mason now in charge, while other clubs in the Championship and abroad are also showing interest.
However, Frank is believed to want to take a look at Lankshear closely this summer first as he is well aware of the striker after Brentford had a bid accepted for the youngster before he left Sheffield United to join Spurs in 2022. Lankshear impressed last year in pre-season and has developed physically a lot since then through his prolonged exposure to first team football.
Alfie Devine
We could have included another Alfie in Alfie Dorrington in this list but there are just too many centre-backs now it seems for the 20-year-old academy defender to break through after his Scottish Cup-winning loan at Aberdeen.
As with Scarlett, it feels like this could be a make or break season for Alfie Devine, who turns 21 this summer, after a string of loan moves without really getting a chance at Tottenham.
Frank will make the final decision on what happens next for the midfielder, who has one year plus a option for another 12 months on his contract.
It’s worth noting that Frank’s assistant Justin Cochrane, who has returned to Tottenham after working in the academy years ago, also worked with Devine in the England set-up for two years and was known to be a fan. He could make Frank aware of the talent the young midfielder possesses.
Josh Keeley
Tottenham have a set trio of goalkeepers it seems in Guglielmo Vicario, Antonin Kinsky and Brandon Austin which is a huge shame for Josh Keeley.
He had a massive season at Orient with 16 clean sheets, scoring a dramatic goal in the FA Cup, was also praised by Guardiola and earned a senior call-up to the Republic of Ireland squad.
The 22-year-old will likely get rewarded with a new contract as he’s going to be a wanted man this summer but it will be interesting to see if Frank wants to take a closer look at him himself this summer before sanctioning a third loan move for the talented young keeper.
George Abbott
George Abbott perhaps got less attention last season because he was operating in League Two but keep an eye on the 19-year-old who starred in Notts County’s run to the play-offs.
It was the versatile midfielder’s first loan but he starred with 13 goal involvements in 44 appearances as a vital cog in the County midfield and he scored some spectacular goals from distance that did the rounds on social media in the weeks afterwards, one looping effort from distance in the FA Cup and another scorching volley that won the League Two Goal of the Season award.
football.london understands that Abbott will be allowed to go out on loan if a suitable bid arrives but if he’s involved in first team training this summer don’t bet against the teenager catching Frank’s eye after a big season of development in the Football League.
Callum Olusesi
Callum Olusesi made his debut for the club last season in the Europa League win at Hoffenheim and the 18-year-old midfielder was on the bench for the semi-final in Bodo as well as in four other group stage games.
The teenager, who signed a new four-year deal in April, was named on the bench a remarkable 14 times in the Premier League last season, once in the FA Cup and three times in the Carabao Cup after becoming a real driving force for the U21s, often as captain, with six goals from midfield across 13 appearances in the Premier League 2 and FA Youth Cup.
Either a first loan move or some more bench time as a European homegrown option awaits for Olusesi as he continues his upward development.
Luca Williams-Barnett
It seems mad to include a 16-year-old in this list but Luca Williams-Barnett is such a talent and enjoyed a remarkable season at Tottenham. He was dominant for the U18s last season with 32 goal involvements in 23 games in the league and FA Youth Cup, netting 20 goals and laying on 12 assists often from an attacking midfield role, and occasionally up front.
He netted a couple of incredible goals from the halfway line and those figures don’t include his eye-catching hat-trick as Tottenham blasted past Charlton in the U17 Premier League Cup final with a 5-2 win oozing with style at Stevenage’s Lamex Stadium.
Williams-Barnett is a prized asset and it says everything about the belief in him that at his age he was named on the bench in the Premier League draw against Fulham at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and in three consecutive group stage matches in the Europa League.
There’s a touch of the Hoddle and Gascoigne about the way the teenager plays and if he can reach even a quarter of the level those two managed then he’ll have an amazing career.
“He loves football. He’s such an exciting, creative player,” said his U18s coach Stuart Lewis. “I spoke in the week about Tottenham players and having that creativity and that go-for-it mindset. We’ve loved Ginola over the years, we’ve loved Berbatov, those players. Luca’s still got a lot of work to do. He’s an under-16 player but throughout the season there’s been some unbelievable moments.”
The youngster found the tempo and the intensity of first team training tough to adjust to at first but it is something he believes he will master.
“I’m enjoying my football so much right now,” he said. “I can’t wait until I’m in the Premier League, scoring for Tottenham, making the fans happy. I just can’t wait.”
He will certainly be someone Frank wants to take a look at this season and it might even come this summer if he catches the eye in pre-season training.
Notable mentions
There are others who Frank will get to look at in the coming months. Tyrese Hall and Rio Kyerematen have both trained with the first team in recent seasons, while Reiss-Alexander Russell-Denny has made an impact since joining Spurs’ development squad last season and he was with Moore in the England U19 squad at the Euros.
Dante Cassanova has also just signed a new contract and is a versatile defender, although that’s a packed area of the first team right now. The same will be the case for Malachi Hardy and Junai Byfield in the defensive ranks while George Feeney is looking to make a name for himself up front.
Mason Melia is set to join Tottenham in January from St Patrick’s Athletic once he has turned 18 and the Irish striker will be another one to look out for.
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