Alfie Devine has been thriving on loan at Port Vale in the first half of the season, but the youngster has now had his loan agreement cut short out of the blue. Fear not, though, it’s simply because he is stepping up to the Championship.
As one of the most exciting talents to emerge from the Tottenham academy in recent years, there are high hopes that Alfie Devine can be a huge part of the next generation of superstars for the North London club.
Devine remains Tottenham’s youngest ever appearance-maker and goalscorer, after his scintillating debut against Marine in the FA Cup three years ago. He has made two first team appearances for Spurs, scoring one goal (Transfermarkt).
Despite impressing Ange Postecoglou over the summer, the decision was made to send Devine out on loan this season to gain valuable first team experience. The 19-year-old joined Port Vale on a temporary basis, and was flourishing in the League One side.
Across 26 appearances in all competitions, Devine bagged three goals and three assists for Port Vale (Transfermarkt) and had earned praise from those connected to the club.
Alfie Devine recalled by Spurs
It comes as quite the surprise then, that Tottenham Hotspur has confirmed Devine’s loan spell has been brought to an end. The club announced it had “exercised the option to recall” Devine rather than letting him finish the season with Port Vale.
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According to Lilywhite Rose, Devine is now set to join Plymouth Argyle until the end of the campaign, where he will link up with his former England manager, Ian Foster, and his Spurs teammate, Ashley Phillips.
In a statement on the matter, Port Vale manager Andy Crosby said: “I want to begin by thanking both Tottenham Hotspur for their trust with one of their highly-rated, up-and-coming talents and to Alfie for his efforts and commitment to Port Vale throughout his time with the club.
“When Alfie joined us on loan in the summer, one of the key selling points of the club was the assurance that he would be coming in and gaining valuable Football League experience in what would be his first professional loan away from Tottenham.
“We can safely say he has gained everything that was promised and more and he leaves the club a far more experienced player than when he came. The growth we have seen both on and off the pitch speaks volumes of the person behind the footballer. He has an undying will to become the very best version of himself and we provided him with the best possible platform to do so.
“With his passion and drive partnered with his natural ability, he has all of the tools at his disposal to go on and really make a name for himself in the professional game and everybody that he has met and worked with here at Port Vale will be willing him on to do so.”
Spurs Web Opinion
I never saw this one coming. Alfie Devine was doing so well with Port Vale and there’s a lot to be said for stability, so it’s a shame this agreement came to an end. That said, if Devine can perform at Championship level (as we know he can), then the future becomes very exciting for him indeed.
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