Tottenham academy starlet Damola Ajayi was spotted training with the first-team in the recent images released by the club.
Ange Postecoglou now has a full squad of first-team players to work with at Hotspur Way after the internationals began pre-season on Wednesday.
So, the Australian and his coaching staff are not now reliant on youth players to make up the numbers, but it turns out that a few continued to train with the senior squad.
Working away at Hotspur Way 🔋 pic.twitter.com/yDyiroU17q
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) July 12, 2023
The account Lilywhite Rose spotted that Ajayi was one of those training with the squad, and remarked that the 17-year-old is a player that the club ‘really like’.
Academy second year forward, Damola Ajayi continues to train with the 1st team despite majority of academy players going back to their age groups now. He is one the club really like. pic.twitter.com/ZPCg5OXiv1
— Lilywhite Rose (@Lilywhite_Rose) July 12, 2023
James Maddison x Damola Ajayi pic.twitter.com/rIUKLCRbqC
— Lilywhite Rose (@Lilywhite_Rose) July 13, 2023
Damola Ajayi seems to be impressing at Spurs
According to the club’s official website, Ajayi joined the Tottenham academy from Bromley FC and broke into the Under-18s set-up during the 2021-22 season when he was still a schoolboy before becoming a full-time scholar last season.
The versatile attacker, who can operate as a centre-forward, in the wide areas as well as in behind the striker, made 18 appearances in the Under-18s Premier League last season, scoring six times and providing two assists.
The teenager, who also played six times for the Under-21s in Premier League 2, has now stayed back to train under Postescoglou and he would be hoping to be on the plane when the squad flies out to Australia for pre-season.
Spurs Web Opinion
The fact that Ajayi has stayed back to train with the first-team when some of the more senior Under-21 players have returned to the academy, suggests that the 17-year-old has certainly impressed Postecolgou and his coaching staff in the first couple of weeks of pre-season.
However, I would be surprised if he flies with the squad to Asia and Australia, simply due to the fact that our first-team is already quite bloated and his chances of getting game time are quite low.