Tottenham fans and Antonio Conte have kept a watchful eye on Portsmouth this season, as 18-year-old Spurs wonderkid Dane Scarlett is spending the campaign on loan there.
The teenager has performed well at Fratton Park, with the highlight of his spell so far coming when he scored twice to secure a 2-1 win over Peterborough in League One action.
Scarlett appears to be a huge prospect, and now, an interesting development suggests Conte could be planning to recall him in 2023.
Tottenham could recall Dane Scarlett
Well, the England Under-19 international was left out of the squad for last night’s 3-1 FA Cup win over Hereford, as Tottenham denied Portsmouth permission to use him.
Had Cowley gone ahead and played Scarlett against Hereford, it would have cup-tied the youngster, meaning Conte would be unable to play him in the competition when Spurs get involved from the third round onwards.
If the Italian had no interest in recalling the Tottenham Academy graduate, then why would he do such a thing?
It is certainly an interesting development, which suggests Conte has one eye on bringing Scarlett back to N17 in 2023.
Tottenham should leave Dane Scarlett in Portsmouth
In our view, Scarlett has a massive future at Tottenham, and could follow in the footsteps of Harry Kane.
However, with the likes of Richarlison, Heung-min Son, Lucas Moura, Dejan Kulusevski and Kane himself fighting for game time in the attack, it would surely harm Scarlett’s development to bring him back.
If he continues to shine for Pompey, then next season could definitely act as a springboard for the teenager to explode in N17.
However, it would be disruptive to end his loan spell at Portsmouth this term for the sake of a few minutes in the FA Cup – hopefully, Spurs allow him to see out the campaign at Fratton Park.
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