Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou has suggested that the likes of Jamie Donley could get game time for Spurs in the coming weeks.
The Tottenham boss, speaking to football.london ahead of Sunday’s meeting between Spurs and Aston Villa, says “the opportunity will come for him” if he continues to work hard.
Tottenham’s squad is seriously depleted at present. Six of the 11 starters from Spurs’ last win are either injured (or a doubt, in Pape Matar Sarr’s case) or suspended for their upcoming game.
Cristian Romero and Yves Bissouma are serving suspensions, while Micky van de Ven, James Maddison, Richarlison, Manor Solomon, Ivan Perisic, Ryan Sessegnon and Ashley Phillips are injured.
Meanwhile, Donley has been knocking on the door of the Tottenham first-team following his heroics for the Spurs Under-21s this term.
The 18-year-old‘s stats this season make for staggering reading. He has six goals and 11 assists from 11 games at Under-21 level for Tottenham.
His efforts have helped Spurs U21s go top of the Premier League 2 table, with eight wins from eight.
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‘More of an opportunity to make an impact’
Alasdair Gold asked Postecoglou what he has made of Donley’s efforts and whether they could see him come into contention for Tottenham’s seniors.
“We’ve been tracking all the young guys and Jamie and Alfie Dorrington have been training with us pretty regularly over the recent period,” replied the Spurs boss.
“Obviously all the injuries but also prior to that they were coming in fairly regularly so I think that’s the first step for all these young guys.
“Get to the first team environment and then see how they get on with training and how they develop from there and adjust to everything we do and the way we do it.
“We’re down on numbers so guys like him will get more of an opportunity to make an impact as I said at training. And if he continues to do that then the opportunity will come for him.”
Jamie Donley a star in the making for Tottenham but Postecoglou right to be cautious – TBR View
Donley looks like a cut above for sure. Dean Jones previously told GiveMeSport that Tottenham insiders think the ‘amazing‘ talent will break into the first-team in the coming months.
“It’s early days but sources around Spurs believe there is a genuine chance he gets lift off this season,” he said.
“It might not be too long until there’s a new chant around the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium: ‘Jamie Donley, he’s one of our own!’”
Obviously you’ve still got to be careful not to throw a top talent in at the deep end. There’s a big difference between the U21s and senior football, and you need to make sure he can manage.