‘Wake-up call’ – Sherwood claims Spurs should be playing two academy graduates

Tim Sherwood has questioned why Tottenham Hotspur are not giving opportunities to talented youngsters coming through the system and instead signing mediocre players.

Spurs have lost several talented young players from their academy ranks over the past few years, including the likes of Marcus Edwards, Kyle Walker-Peters and Noni Madueke, who have all had success since leaving the North London club.

In fact, it has even been reported over recent weeks that the Lilywhites considered paying big money to re-sign Edwards (Daily Mail) and Walker-Peters (talkSPORT).

Sherwood, who gave Harry Kane an opportunity in the first team ahead of more established names such as Emmanuel Adebayor and Roberto Soldado when he was Tottenham’s interim head coach, has now suggested that Premier League clubs are making mistakes by not trusting academy products.

He told Premier League Productions (05/02/23 at 6:50 pm): “We are all for the best players in the world coming to the Premier League. We all want that because it makes our league better.

“But the mediocre players, who come into the Premier League, and are blocking up the pathway for our kids are not good enough. Them kids should be given the opportunity.

“Why should the £50, £70 and the £100 million player get more opportunities than the kid? Because they let you down as well. It’s time to wake up for them academies. Let’s not block up the pathways. 

“Let’s nurture our young talent and give them the same chances as we are giving them multi-million-pound players that are coming into your football club. When they get into the team, they care more.”

He questioned why there is a lack of academy players who have broken into the Tottenham first team over recent years.

Sherwood continued: “They (Spurs) need a wake-up call, that is their main player (Kane), who else is there? There isn’t one. Tanganga plays here and there. Oliver Skipp. They keep getting rid of good talent when they need a chance to play as that man (Harry Kane) had.”

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This is a particularly big problem for the top clubs as young players need to be of a very high level to break into the first team. 

However, as Sherwood points out, the paradox is that they might never really develop into top-quality players unless they are given the opportunity to play at the highest level.

That is why it is important to use the loan system smartly to ensure that the likes of Parrott, Scarlett and Devine continue playing competitive football and developing.

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