Opinion: The six future stars of Tottenham Hotspur

If there is one thing that can no doubt be celebrated about Tottenham, it is our ability to blood promising young players from the academy.

Our academy has seen players such as Harry Kane, Andros Townsend and Harry Winks to name but a few emerge as future stars and starters in our first XI over recent years.

Our squad these days is no different. Although perhaps lacking the quality throughout that we have had in previous years, we have an abundance of talent throughout our youth system and have recently seen some progress through to the senior squad. 

Honourable mentions must go to players such as Alfie Devine, Marcel Lavinier, Alfie Whiteman and Nile John; all promising young players that will no doubt be stars in the future, but are yet to be given a real chance to prove themselves in our senior team.

The first player I want to talk about in detail is young centre-back Japhet Tanganga.

Bursting onto the scene last season and starring in games against Liverpool, and a man of the match performance in our FA Cup tie with Middlesbrough last January, Japhet has shown a great deal of potential, both in his conventional centre-back position and more recently as a right-back. 

For someone so young, he seems incredibly sure of himself as a defender, and mistakes seem relatively few and far between for the youngster.

In much the same vain, Joe Rodon has shown why he was such a highly rated prospect at Swansea, the club we paid a fee of around £11 million to for his services.

He has arguably been our most consistent defender this season, although featuring much more sparingly than his more experienced counterparts Dier, Alderweireld and Sanchez. 

He is brilliant in the air, reads the game well, is full-blooded in the tackle and has Alderweireld-like vision in his passing; something I hope we will see more of from him in a Tottenham shirt.

A little further up the pitch, we have Oliver Skipp, another academy graduate currently on loan at Championship-topping Norwich City.

Heralded as a ‘future Tottenham captain’ by Jose Mourinho, Skipp has excelled since joining the Canaries, featuring 43 times and becoming a true midfield general for the team seemingly bound for the Premier League next season. 

Skipp is certainly a future star in a Tottenham shirt and is perhaps already in the conversation to partner Pierre Emile Højbjerg in the heart of the Spurs midfield next season.

His tenacity and voice is something we could definitely utilise, and I think Højbjerg would bring out the best in him.

A new name on everyone’s lips this year is 17-year-old forward, Dane Scarlett. Compared to Marcus Rashford by Mourinho, and trusted to feature off the bench in three games this season, including one bearing an assist against Wolfsberger in the Europa League.

Time will tell just how lethal Scarlett will be as he matures, but the snippets we have seen of him have certainly highlighted his potential. His hold up play looks brilliant, he is constantly looking for the ball and picks it up in brilliant positions; certainly one to watch.

Slightly more experienced is Irish youngster Troy Parrott. Spending his season first on loan at Millwall and now at Ipswich Town, Parrott has featured 28 times this season for both clubs, scoring once and providing one assist.

Tipped by many as one to watch in the future, it will be interesting to see what happens to Parrott in the upcoming season or two; I would imagine another loan is on the cards next season for the youngster.

Also worth mentioning is Ryan Sessegnon, who has spent this season refining his role as a left wing-back at Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga, racking up 22 appearances including a pair of goals and assists for the German side. 

A lot was said about Ryan when he joined from Fulham last season for £25 million, and Daniel Levy will be anxious to see him back delivering to his full potential when his loan is complete.

However, the signing of Sergio Reguilon from Real Madrid certainly won’t have helped his prospects of starting regularly for Spurs.

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