Tottenham Hotspur coach Wayne Burnett has singled out young forward Jamie Donley for praise after last night’s Under-21 victory.
Burnett was speaking to Tottenham’s official website off the back of an impressive 5-0 win over Colchester yesterday.
With Spurs not in the Champions League, the EFL Trophy is one of the biggest competitions for the club’s young players this season.
They won’t feature in the UEFA Youth League, although matches against senior professionals are arguably more useful.
Colchester United are near the bottom of League 2 this season and were there for the taking last night.
A strong Tottenham Under-21 side who have yet to lose a game in their league proved to be no match for the fourth-tier club.
Jamie Donley and Jude Soonsup-Bell both scored braces, while Will Lankshear got on the score sheet as well.
MORE TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR STORIES
Even new signing Alejo Veliz was given a first outing in a Spurs shirt.
Tottenham’s Under-21 coach Wayne Burnett was particularly impressed with Donley who controlled the match.
The England Under-19 international has a huge future ahead of him and has recovered quickly from a knock picked up on international duty.
Burnett impressed with Tottenham youngster Donley
Asked about his side’s goalscoring exploits last night, Burnett said: “Jamie [Donley] played with energy and enthusiasm, you can see his quality.
“I really liked Jamie this evening, I thought he was outstanding.”
Donley was nominated alongside teammate Yago Santiago for the Premier League 2 Player of the Month award for August.
In four matches at that level this season, he’s found the back of the net once while laying on six goals for his teammates.
Donley can play as a forward but was deployed in the James Maddison role last night.
As well as scoring twice, he also played a key role in Soonsup-Bell’s first goal too.
Burnett was blown away by Donley last night and it’ll be interesting to see if he’s given an opportunity in Tottenham’s first team this season.
The lack of cup or European action makes this unlikely.
However, Ange Postecoglou has shown that he’s willing to give anyone a chance regardless of age if he thinks they’re good enough.