Former Tottenham academy star Noni Madueke has claimed that his record at PSV Eindhoven this season is proof that he made the right decision by quitting Spurs to move to the Dutch club.
Madueke was seen as one of Tottenham’s most talented young players during his time with the Under-16s and Under-18s, with the winger coming through in the same crop as Troy Parrott and Harvey White.
However, he rejected Tottenham’s contract offer and decided to join PSV in 2018 to get a quicker pathway into the first-team.
His decision has been vindicated as the wide man has established himself as a key part of the Eredivisie club’s starting eleven this season.
The 18-year-old has registered eight goals and eight assists in all competitions so far for Roger Schmidt’s side and appears to be growing in confidence with more games under his belt.
The former Spurs man admitted that seeing how little first-team action his England Under-18 team-mates are getting, has convinced him that he made the right decision to leave North London.
Madueke told The Sunday Mirror (31/01, p63): “It is fantastic. I am so proud of my stats. I will be 19 in March and I have been playing so many games.
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“Also, so many of my appearances have been at a high level, like European games and the big matches in the Dutch league. You only have to compare the games I have played to the games my England team-mates have played for their clubs.
“I was right behind my decision to leave Tottenham at the time and to join a top side in Holland, and my stats are an even bigger confirmation of my good choice.”
Spurs Web Opinion
An increasing number of younger English players now seem more willing to go to clubs in Holland, Germany or France as they realise that they have a better shot of breaking into the first-team earlier than they would at a Premier League club. This is a trend that is likely to grow over the next decade and clubs like Spurs thus risk losing their young talent to other leagues if they do not provide players with a reasonable pathway to the first-team.
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