Fulham are demanding £50m for Ryan Sessegnon – put perhaps Spurs should put their faith in young Keanan Bennetts.
It’s unlikely that Tottenham Hotspur fans lost any sleep last night after their side crashed out of the Checkatrade trophy after a topsy-turvy 4-3 defeat to AFC Wimbledon on Tuesday night.
Yet, one positive that has emerged from this oh-so divisive competition is that best young talents in the country are given the chance to prove themselves at a senior level. And one player in particular stood out as Spurs’ Under-23s travelled to Kingsmeadow in midweek.
Kazaiah Sterling, Shilow Tracey and Samuel Shashoua scribed their name onto the scoresheet but it was the rampaging performance of teenage left-back Keanan Bennetts that caught the eye.
The 18-year-old only switched to a left-back role in the last couple of weeks having emerged through Spurs’ youth system as a thrilling winger but that does not mean his attacking instincts have been blunted. Quite the opposite.
Bennetts was a constant menace on Tuesday, leaving three Wimbledon defenders in his wake before putting the first on a plate for Shashoua. Sterling, too, benefitted from his wing wizardry as his produced his second assist of the night.
With Spurs’ senior boss Mauricio Pochettino preferring a three-man central defensive system with wing backs providing the width, Bennetts would look right at home.
Therefore, perhaps there should be a little less pressure on Spurs’ pursuit of Ryan Sessegnon. According to The Sun, Spurs made a bid in the summer for the 17-year-old wonderkid who took to senior football like a duck to water last season.
And Pochettino is expected to renew his interest in January, though Fulham are demanding £50 million – potentially making a 17-year-old the club’s all-time record transfer.
Perhaps the emergence of Bennetts, one year Sessegnon’s senior, could save Daniel Levy a huge outlay.
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