Tottenham’s teenagers give Ange Postecoglou plenty to ponder
By Jay Harris
For the first 45 minutes of Tottenham Hotspur’s 5-1 friendly victory against Heart of Midlothian, James Maddisonran the show.
The 27-year-old midfielder, making his first appearance since being cut from England’s preliminary squad for the European Championship, linked up effortlessly with Dejan Kulusevski, Son Heung-minand Manor Solomonagainst the Edinburgh-based Scottish Premiership side on Wednesday evening.
Just take a look at the assist he provided for Brennan Johnson’s goal (below), the Premier Leaguevisitors’ first of the 2024-25 season. Maddison pokes the ball with the outside of his boot towards Kulusevski, who returns it with a slick backheel. Maddison then whips a cross straight into Johnson’s path.
This was only a pre-season game, and Tottenham’s opening one at that with the proper stuff still a month away, so it is important not to get too carried away, but it was encouraging to see Maddison looking energised after what was such an underwhelming end to 2023-24 for him.
By full time, though, nobody was talking about Maddison — he had been overshadowed by Spurs’ exciting crop of academy players.
Head coach Ange Postecoglou named an experienced starting XI at Tynecastle, apart from a makeshift defence. Pedro Porrowas playing in his natural position at right-back but Oliver Skippand new signing Archie Graydeputised in the centre of defence while there was an opportunity for Jamie Donleyon the left.
Donley was a key figure for Tottenham Under-21s last season, scoring five times to help them win the Premier League 2 title. The 19-year-old mainly operated in midfield then and, although he officially started at left-back last night, he took up a lot of attacking positions.
Solomon was instructed to stay high and wide, which allowed Donley to make underlapping runs. Just before half-time, he found himself on Spurs’ right wing following a corner and whipped a cross towards Solomon at the back post but the Israel winger fluffed the chance.
Postecoglou completely changed his team at half-time and that initially backfired as Lawrence Shanklandequalised almost instantly after the restart. The most senior Tottenham player on the pitch at this point was 28-year-old Timo Wernerand after him it was backup goalkeeper Alfie Whiteman, 25. Djed Spence, 23, is a veteran compared to Mikey Moore(16), Lucas Bergvall(18) and Alfie Devine, Will Lankshearand Ashley Phillips, who are all 19.
Pre-season is the perfect opportunity to assess which young players are ready to permanently step up into the first-team environment and the brief fear last night was that this chance was going to pass them by.
But within a few minutes, Lankshear restored the lead with a smart right-footed finish following a clever pass from Spence. Lankshear only stayed on the pitch for 20 minutes before he was replaced by Alejo Veliz, but it was an impressive cameo. He was a constant threat inside the penalty area and showed a willingness to make runs out wide, too.
Lankshear signed a new contract until 2029 last week and has been training with the first team.
If the England Under-19 striker keeps improving, he could be in with a real chance of getting consistent game time in the coming season. Richarlisonis the only senior natural No 9 in Postecoglou’s squad. Troy Parrott has moved to AZ Alkmaar of the Netherlands permanently while Dane Scarlettneeds to rediscover his confidence after a disappointing loan spell in the 2023-24 Championship with Ipswich Town. By contrast, Lankshear scored 32 times in all competitions last season and was named the Premier League 2 Player of the Year.
“He had a very good year last year, so it’s about rewarding that,” Postecoglou said. “With all the young guys, it’s about, ‘The game doesn’t stand still. Whatever you did last year, it’s about coming in this year and making an impact’. Our two new signings (Gray and Bergvall) are 18, so there’s a measure there for our 18-year-olds. Just because you are here doesn’t mean you get any kind of advantage, apart from the fact you are in front of us (the coaches) every day. He deserved his chance today, trained well, took his goal well and I’m pleased for him.”
It should not be a surprise that Moore found the back of the net too. He made an intelligent run, calmly controlled the ball inside the box and fired it past 75-cap Scotland goalkeeper Craig Gordon. Moore became the youngest player to represent Spurs in the Premier League when he came off the bench in their 2-0 defeat to Manchester Cityin May at 16 years, nine months and three days old. He then scored four goals for England in the group stage of the Under-17 Euroslater that month. Patience is required with young players but Moore keeps handling every challenge thrown his way.
Veliz and Scarlett had less time to make an impact up front last night than Lankshear did. Veliz missed a great opportunity to score when he fired the ball over the crossbar from Spence’s cross and injured his nose in the process. The medical staff spent five minutes trying to solve the problem but he was substituted and replaced by Scarlett, who looked threatening with his speed on the counter.
Tottenham spent around £40million (£52m)to prise Gray out of last season’s Championship play-off finalists Leeds Unitedand sign Bergvall from Swedish top-flight side Djurgarden. Postecoglou praised the “good energy” the pair have brought to the squad.
Gray, a central midfielder or a right-back, looked exceptional even though he was playing out of position, while Bergvall strutted around the pitch, showing off his flair and willingness to work hard out of possession. The midfielder set up Moore’s goal and whipped a brilliant cross into the box in the build-up to Phillips’ late finish.
The future is looking bright for Tottenham, and Postecoglou will surely be tempted to reward these young players with more opportunities when the season officially starts.
Tottenham’s teenagers give Ange Postecoglou plenty to ponder
By Jay Harris
For the first 45 minutes of Tottenham Hotspur’s 5-1 friendly victory against Heart of Midlothian, James Maddisonran the show.
The 27-year-old midfielder, making his first appearance since being cut from England’s preliminary squad for the European Championship, linked up effortlessly with Dejan Kulusevski, Son Heung-minand Manor Solomonagainst the Edinburgh-based Scottish Premiership side on Wednesday evening.
Just take a look at the assist he provided for Brennan Johnson’s goal (below), the Premier Leaguevisitors’ first of the 2024-25 season. Maddison pokes the ball with the outside of his boot towards Kulusevski, who returns it with a slick backheel. Maddison then whips a cross straight into Johnson’s path.
This was only a pre-season game, and Tottenham’s opening one at that with the proper stuff still a month away, so it is important not to get too carried away, but it was encouraging to see Maddison looking energised after what was such an underwhelming end to 2023-24 for him.
By full time, though, nobody was talking about Maddison — he had been overshadowed by Spurs’ exciting crop of academy players.
Head coach Ange Postecoglou named an experienced starting XI at Tynecastle, apart from a makeshift defence. Pedro Porrowas playing in his natural position at right-back but Oliver Skippand new signing Archie Graydeputised in the centre of defence while there was an opportunity for Jamie Donleyon the left.
Donley was a key figure for Tottenham Under-21s last season, scoring five times to help them win the Premier League 2 title. The 19-year-old mainly operated in midfield then and, although he officially started at left-back last night, he took up a lot of attacking positions.
Solomon was instructed to stay high and wide, which allowed Donley to make underlapping runs. Just before half-time, he found himself on Spurs’ right wing following a corner and whipped a cross towards Solomon at the back post but the Israel winger fluffed the chance.
Postecoglou completely changed his team at half-time and that initially backfired as Lawrence Shanklandequalised almost instantly after the restart. The most senior Tottenham player on the pitch at this point was 28-year-old Timo Wernerand after him it was backup goalkeeper Alfie Whiteman, 25. Djed Spence, 23, is a veteran compared to Mikey Moore(16), Lucas Bergvall(18) and Alfie Devine, Will Lankshearand Ashley Phillips, who are all 19.
Pre-season is the perfect opportunity to assess which young players are ready to permanently step up into the first-team environment and the brief fear last night was that this chance was going to pass them by.
But within a few minutes, Lankshear restored the lead with a smart right-footed finish following a clever pass from Spence. Lankshear only stayed on the pitch for 20 minutes before he was replaced by Alejo Veliz, but it was an impressive cameo. He was a constant threat inside the penalty area and showed a willingness to make runs out wide, too.
Lankshear signed a new contract until 2029 last week and has been training with the first team.
If the England Under-19 striker keeps improving, he could be in with a real chance of getting consistent game time in the coming season. Richarlisonis the only senior natural No 9 in Postecoglou’s squad. Troy Parrott has moved to AZ Alkmaar of the Netherlands permanently while Dane Scarlettneeds to rediscover his confidence after a disappointing loan spell in the 2023-24 Championship with Ipswich Town. By contrast, Lankshear scored 32 times in all competitions last season and was named the Premier League 2 Player of the Year.
“He had a very good year last year, so it’s about rewarding that,” Postecoglou said. “With all the young guys, it’s about, ‘The game doesn’t stand still. Whatever you did last year, it’s about coming in this year and making an impact’. Our two new signings (Gray and Bergvall) are 18, so there’s a measure there for our 18-year-olds. Just because you are here doesn’t mean you get any kind of advantage, apart from the fact you are in front of us (the coaches) every day. He deserved his chance today, trained well, took his goal well and I’m pleased for him.”
It should not be a surprise that Moore found the back of the net too. He made an intelligent run, calmly controlled the ball inside the box and fired it past 75-cap Scotland goalkeeper Craig Gordon. Moore became the youngest player to represent Spurs in the Premier League when he came off the bench in their 2-0 defeat to Manchester Cityin May at 16 years, nine months and three days old. He then scored four goals for England in the group stage of the Under-17 Euroslater that month. Patience is required with young players but Moore keeps handling every challenge thrown his way.
Veliz and Scarlett had less time to make an impact up front last night than Lankshear did. Veliz missed a great opportunity to score when he fired the ball over the crossbar from Spence’s cross and injured his nose in the process. The medical staff spent five minutes trying to solve the problem but he was substituted and replaced by Scarlett, who looked threatening with his speed on the counter.
Tottenham spent around £40million (£52m)to prise Gray out of last season’s Championship play-off finalists Leeds Unitedand sign Bergvall from Swedish top-flight side Djurgarden. Postecoglou praised the “good energy” the pair have brought to the squad.
Gray, a central midfielder or a right-back, looked exceptional even though he was playing out of position, while Bergvall strutted around the pitch, showing off his flair and willingness to work hard out of possession. The midfielder set up Moore’s goal and whipped a brilliant cross into the box in the build-up to Phillips’ late finish.
The future is looking bright for Tottenham, and Postecoglou will surely be tempted to reward these young players with more opportunities when the season officially starts.