Since Tim Sherwood’s appointment as Spurs boss, he has shown faith in his younger, less experienced players who have come up through Tottenham’s ranks.
Nabil Bentaleb:
Notably, on December 22nd 2013, Nabil Bentaleb (aged 19) was selected into the 18-man first-team squad for Tottenham Hotspur in Sherwood’s first game in charge against Southampton. He made his professional debut in that match coming on as a substitute. Tottenham went on to win the match 3–2 with Bentaleb showing promising signs. He then went on to record first team appearances, starting against Crystal Palace, where he hit the post with tremendous effort and was further awarded with the man of the match award for his efforts. Bentaleb was also in the first team when Spurs traveled away to Swansea, where he produced another marvelous display and helped his side record a 3-1 win at Liberty Stadium.
Impressive performances in a Tottenham shirt were soon acknowledged and despite having already represented the French Under 19’s, young Bentaleb was courted by the Algerian Football Federation. Consequently, on February 15th 2014, Bentaleb pledged his international future to Algeria and was later called up by Algeria coach Vahid Halilhodzic for a friendly match against Slovenia where he made his international debut, playing the full 90 minutes in a 2–0 victory.
Bentaleb is now a regular face in the Tottenham 18-man first team squad and the youngsters future looks exceptionally bright.
Harry Kane:
After four loan spells away from the club, young, determined 20-year-old Harry Kane turned down another temporary move in the summer (2013) in order to fight for his place in the Spurs team.
Unlike Bentaleb, Kane had already appeared on the first team bench twice during the 2009–10 season. His first came in the League Cup against Everton on October 27th 2009 and the other appearance coming in the F.A. Cup fourth-round replay against Bolton Wanderers on February 24th 2010.
After a season long loan at Leyton Orient during the 2010-11 campaign, Kane returned to Spurs and in the 2011-12 season made his first European start for Tottenham in the second leg of their Europa League qualification round against Hearts. The youngster later went on to record six appearances in the Europa League and his first European goal for Spurs came during the 4–0 win at Shamrock Rovers.
His first Premier League appearance in a Spurs shirt came on the 18th of August 2012, when Kane entered the frame coming on as a late substitute for Sandro against Newcastle United, a game in which Spurs lost 2-1.
Loan spells at Leyton Orient, Millwall, Leicester City and Norwich City proved to be key for Kane in his development as a professional.
Kane is now a relatively big part of the first team squad at Tottenham Hotspur. Manager Tim Sherwood has shown faith in Kane in recent weeks and it is a decision that has most definitely payed off with the youngster scoring three goals in four games for the North London club.
On April 7th, 2014, Kane was selected in the starting 11 against Premier League strugglers Sunderland. The youngster notched twice in the game helping Spurs record a 5-1 win.
After his impressive performance against Sunderland, Kane was awarded with only his second Premier League start the following game against West Brom. Kane’s header proved decisive in helping Tottenham recover from a 3-0 deficit. They ended up drawing 3-3 after Christian Eriksen scored a dramatic late equaliser.
The English youngster then scored for the third game in a row. On this occasion helping Tottenham secure all three points in 3-1 home win to Fulham. A team fighting to avoid relegation at the bottom of the table.
Kane has made it clear, he wants to become a regular first team player at Tottenham Hotspur, and he also hopes to replicate boyhood idol Teddy Sheringham by shooting Tottenham to success.
The 20-year-old is thankful to Sherwood for giving him the chance to play and believes Tottenham should be excited about their young players saying “He’s given me a chance and I’ve repaid him with 3 goals in 3 which is great. Obviously it’s great to have that faith from the manager. There’s great crop of youngsters coming through at the minute. It’s great because then you know the rewards are there if you’re impressing enough and working hard in training.”
I think it’s fair to point out that Sherwood should be praised for his decision to give these youngsters the opportunity to play for Spurs. There are a lack of opportunities for youngsters in English football and very few make it to an elite level; especially in the Barclay’s Premier League.
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