Harvey White has signed a new three-year contract with Tottenham Hotspur. The 18-year-old made his debut in the first team pre-season tour of Asia in 2019. This season he has been featuring for the under-23’s. Spurs fans may get to witness his prodigious talent in the midfield in the coming seasons.
Tottenham Hotspur’s Harvey White Next Youth Star to Break Through
Strengths
During the pre-season tour, White played at left-back. This isn’t his usual position, which is in central midfield. Nevertheless, in last year’s pre-season tour he held his own. Alasdair Gold has praised White’s versatility as well as his set-piece taking. Chris Miller also has high praise for White’s set-piece taking, rating him as the best in the club for set-pieces. This is refreshing, after the comically consistent failures of Christian Eriksen to beat the first man.
Carrying on the Youth Project
The club have bought in some talent recently, with Steven Bergwijn, Gedson Fernandes and making Giovani Lo Celso‘s move permanent. This summer, there could and should be further reshaping of the squad; Spurs desperately need another striker to prevent them from the crisis they currently find themselves in. However, alongside this need to invest in quality first-team talent, there also comes the need to encourage the youth Spurs players to progress.
White is a quality young player who will be knocking on the door of the first team in the coming seasons. He is yet to go out on loan, instead of building his experience in the academy set-up. As others have pointed out, his adaptability makes him a useful player for any squad to have. If he is able to fill in at left-back as confidently as in central midfield then he will be able to maximise his game-time, as well as giving the squad deeper options across those multiple positions.
There are a few players, such as White, but also Troy Parrott, for example, that are not yet ready for any extended first-team action at Spurs. However, White and Parrott are two of the most valued players in the academy, which is indicated by their recent new contracts. Perhaps it would be wise for these players to find some loan experience for next season unless they can develop enough over the summer.
Verdict
It is another positive move by the club with this recent contract extension of a top young talent. Harvey White could well breakthrough in the next few seasons. It all depends on how well he, like Troy Parrott, is managed by the club’s staff to ensure that he can develop to the best of his ability. Perhaps he’ll make some cameos by the end of the season, but otherwise, he will continue to sharpen his skills as a Spurs player.
Main Photo
