The next wave of Tottenham’s academy graduates

One of Maurcio Pochettino’s biggest triumphs in his first season at Spurs was his moulding of young academy hopefuls into bona-fide first teamers. Taking the likes of Mason, Bentaleb and of course Kane to whole new levels. This shouldn’t be a one off however, as there is more talent in the various youth teams at Tottenham, that just might be about ripe for first team picking.

Starting with the most ready, and the most well-known to Spurs fans, would be Alex Pritchard. Currently with one first team appearance under his belt, the dynamic midfielder is coming off a stellar season with Brentford, in which he provided 12 goals and 7 assists, helping them to a 5^th placed finish. At 22 he is ready to be tested at first team level, and his dangerous blend of trickery and deadly set-piece ability, will make him an interesting alternative to Eriksen and Chadli for Pochettino to consider in the coming season.

Moving down to our Under-21 team another midfielder catching the eye is 18 year old Joshua Onomah. Onomah made his first team debut this season at just 17, appearing as a substitute in a cup tie against Burnley. The youngster has drawn comparisons to Paul Pogba in terms of playstyle, in that he seamlessly transitions from midfield to attack, creating dangerous attacking situations whilst having the stamina to cover multiple positons effortlessly.

A team-mate of Onomah’s at Under-21 level that has been causing a big stir across the pond is centre-back Cameron Carter-Vickers. Carter-Vickers is an imposing centre-half, who has at just 17 already captained the Under-21 team. He has also earned rave reviews playing for the United States in the recent Under-20 World Cup, with some speculating that his impressive maturity, at a physical and technical level, will have him fast-tracked into the first team of either Spurs, or the USA national team sooner rather than later.

The final player may be a few years off the first team, but whose massive talent has drawn interest from Barcelona, and caused a contract dispute, may see them thrust into the spotlight soon. This player is Marcus Edwards, at just 5’5 and 16 years of age, Edwards won’t be mixing it in the premier league any time soon, but what Edwards lacks in size he makes up for with sublime technical ability, ability that is far ahead of his age group. Comparable to David Silva, the left footed attacking midfielder drifts between opposition lines and seems to have an innate sense of space and timing, something which sets him apart from other players is age. Whether Spurs can hang on to such a precocious talent remains to be seen, but if they do, we could see another superstar emerge from the Tottenham academy.