The Tottenham youth academy has already developed the likes of Harry Kane but now promises to uncover some new talent. However, such promising players have flaws and weaknesses in their game that they must improve upon. Therefore, it’s important that Pochettino looks to get these youngsters out on loan to add their potential ability to the squad.
At the age of 18, Cameron Carter-Vickers has already made 29 caps for the United States from under-18 up to under-23 level. This underlines his quality to represent his country, but namely his physicality to play five years above his age. As Chris Miller points out “he is physically ‘ready’ for men’s football” because of his strength in the air and on the ground. He is certainly capable of competing physically in the Premier League yet he has not featured in the Tottenham first team yet as he is still prone to making some simple errors. These are errors that can be corrected by sending him out on loan. Only then can he be deemed a Tottenham youth academy success.
Shayon Harrison is currently a contender for April goal of the month for his club, delightfully completing a hat-trick against Sunderland under-21s. This is recent evidence of his goal scoring ability, after finishing top scorer in the 2014/2015 season for the under-18s with a haul of 18 goals in 15 matches. He has often trained with the first team for Tottenham and has even trained with the England first team alongside Harry Winks. Despite the success at youth level, he is yet to break into the first team level due to his lightweight and tendency to get bullied by stronger players. To reach the first team, he simply needs to build himself up to compete physically in the Premier League.
Formerly on loan to Rangers, Nathan Oduwa shone in a tough physical league, before some ‘robust’ challenges injured him and brought short the loan. The Scottish Premier League really allowed Oduwa to showcase his audacious skills. He lit up the league by terrorising defences and looks like a promising player in the Tottenham youth academy. However, out on loan to Colchester, manager Kevin Keen noted: “He’s got to be able to beat people and get balls into the box and be effective for the team. There were two or three things he did okay (against Port Vale) but that’s not enough.” This suggests that whilst he does have the flicks and tricks of a winger, he lacks the final product and isn’t as “effective” as he could be. Before breaking into the first team, he has to work on being more productive, by scoring goals or notching assists, as just beating a defender doesn’t count for anything.
Promising goalkeeper Thomas Glover has put in some fantastic performances between the sticks for the Tottenham under-18s and under-21s and is gaining a reputation as a penalty-saving specialist. He definitely has the physical attributes to make a quality goalkeeper, standing at 6ft 4′ coupled with good technical ability. Although he has been prone to a few fumbles, even first team goalkeepers let in some howlers. At the age of 18, he has many years to improve his handling and to become a more consistent and reliable goalkeeper. It’s vital that he gets a loan deal, as first team football for a League One or League Two side would really give him some good match experience. Such leagues are physical which would test his ability to command his area, thus making the physical step-up into the Premier League easier.
Christian Maghoma has proven himself as a strong, calm and collected centre-back. His most impressive highlight has to be his under-21 debut, where at the age of 16 he managed to keep Gary Hooper quiet against Norwich in 2014. To keep an experienced striker out of the goals at such a young age suggests both physical and technical ability. He has already been out on an emergency loan to Yeovil in November 2015 but failed to make an appearance. Goals aren’t crucial for defenders, but his height has allowed him to score some goals from set pieces, which is a great add-on. Perhaps unlikely to break into the first team soon, he should be loaned out again, where he find better match experience.
