Tottenham’s young talent is paying the price for Spurs’ success
The more success Tottenham enjoy as a club, the harder it’s going to be for young talent to find their way into Mauricio Pochettino’s first team.
Tottenham are a club that take great pride in bringing young players through to the first team. It’s part of the reason Mauricio Pochettino is such a perfect manager for Spurs. Ironically, the better Pochettino’s squad gets on the pitch, the less opportunities there are for the club’s academy players.
The issue is really starting to come to a head this summer. Josh Onomah, Marcus Edwards and Cameron Carter-Vickers all entered the preseason with hopes of earning a place in Pochettino’s squad. None of the trio has been successful. Each player is headed elsewhere on loan.
Onomah’s move to Sheffield Wednesday might be the most surprising move of the group. It represents his second consecutive loan to the Championship. It’s possible he could have worked his way into Pochettino’s plans with a full preseason, but an injury robbed him of that opportunity.
In recent years, these sorts of prospects would have been able to successfully force their way into the first team. None of these youth players are all that different from the likes of Ryan Mason and Nabil Bentaleb in terms of their youth resumes. Those two midfielders played huge roles for Spurs before ultimately being sold.
Some Tottenham fans have taken to social media to complain about Pochettino’s unwillingness to give young players a chance. The reality is that he would need to drop an established senior player from his squad to make room for these unproven young players. The idea of sacrificing someone like Lucas Moura to make room for Edwards seems like madness given the way the Brazilian attacker has started the season. This is just the sort of thing that would need to happen to give Academy prospects a relatively free run into the first team.
The situation isn’t hopeless for Academy prospects though. The recent rash of loans at the club will better prepare players to step up in the future. Whether or not that happens to be at Tottenham is a fair question. It still should be a net positive for their careers.
It’s also important to point out that youngsters are still getting a chance under Pochettino. Luke Amos came out of nowhere to earn a spot in the squad for the moment. Academy players now need to be at the right position to step up to the Premier League level. That will pay serious dividends for the club down the line.
Next. Tottenham give Marcus Edwards one last chance. dark
Young players have a tougher road to Tottenham’s first team now, but he road still exists. The added difficulty is a clear sign of progress for Spurs.