Tottenham Hotspur’s Josh Keeley has impressed on his loan spell with Leyton Orient in League One, but a leap to the Premier League as early as next season could be too soon.
Jamie Donley has often stolen the headlines at Leyton Orient this season. The loanee from Tottenham has registered eight goals and 10 assists in 39 appearances and has even been named as the club’s player of the year.
However, he is not the only youngster to have received plaudits for his performances. Josh Keeley has also played a key role in guiding the O’s to the play-offs.
The Irish-born goalkeeper has made 36 appearances this season and Keeley recently won the supporters club merit award. As well as this, he won the club’s goal of the season award for a last-minute header which kept Leyton Orient in the FA Cup against Oldham Athletic.
Josh Keeley has risen up the ranks since joining Tottenham
Keeley has already made considerable progress since arriving at Hotspur Way from St Patrick’s Athletic. The 21-year-old spent the second half of last season at Barnet in the National League, but joined League One outfit Leyton Orient on loan last summer.
The fact that he is winning club awards shows he has risen to a much higher standard without any difficulty. With 16 clean sheets in the league and an average of 2.9 saves per game, it is clear to see why Keeley is receiving recognition.
He was even described as ‘really, really good’ by Pep Guardiola after a closely contested cup tie between Leyton Orient and Manchester City. This is just another example of how highly thought of the Spurs starlet has become.
Keeley is not yet ready for the Spurs first team
Keeley has shown he is capable of making the leap from the National League to League One, but the Premier League may be too big a step at this stage in his career.
Not only is the rise in quality a potential issue, but Tottenham already have a host of goalkeeping options, including Guglielmo Vicario, Antonin Kinsky and Brandon Austin.
He will only be 22 after the summer, which is still very young for a goalkeeper. Therefore, there is no need to rush him before he is ready for the Tottenham first-team squad.
After thriving in League One, it seems only natural for Tottenham to give Keeley a loan to a Championship club next season. Of course, it will have to be to a club that guarantees to use the youngster as their first-choice. If Orient find success through the League One play-offs, perhaps a loan back to the O’s for another season would suit all involved.
Whatever the case, Spurs should be looking at Josh Keeley with 2026/27 in mind. If he thrives in the Championship, there is no reason why he can’t push for the number one jersey in a couple of years.