Tottenham’s Josh Onomah is in a tricky situation right now.
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino with Tottenham’s Josh Onomah
Tottenham Hotspur’s academy has been thriving in recent years, with White Hart Lane seemingly the place to be for any young players.
Harry Winks and Harry Kane have stepped up to become first-team stars under Mauricio Pochettino, whilst former academy graduates Adam Smith, Charlie Daniels, Andros Townsend, Jake Livermore and Tom Carroll are all playing in the Premier League.
Pochettino will now be hoping to bring through the next crop of young players, with Kyle Walker-Peters, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Marcus Edwards all tipped for bright futures in the first team – but one player seemingly in between the two is Joshua Onomah.
The attacking midfielder, 19, has long been tipped as a star of the future having come up through the ranks at Spurs, and he made 19 first-team appearances last season as he looked to establish himself.
However, Onomah has started just three games in all competitions this season, and his last Premier League appearance came back in December – a five minute cameo against Hull City.
Onomah is now featuring for Tottenham’s development squad, and scored in their last game against Reading, with the Spurs official website describing him as a ‘constant threat’ in that 4-0 win.
That just goes to underline that Onomah is too good for youth football right now, but he isn’t quite good enough for the Tottenham first-team just yet, leaving him in no man’s land at White Hart Lane.
Tottenham’s Josh Onomah celebrates scoring
At the start of this season, Pochettino told The Independent that he had no plans to send Onomah out on loan, as he wanted to coach him himself rather than sending him elsewhere – but this season means Pochettino must re-think that plan this summer.
Onomah needs to be challenged away from youth football, and Tottenham stars such as Kyle Walker, Danny Rose and Kane all benefited from loan moves, earning valuable first-team experience with Football League clubs.
A Championship loan move this summer, even if only until January, would give Onomah chance to show what he can do, and prepare him for the Spurs first team after a frustrating season in which his development appears to have stalled a little.
Would you like to see Onomah go out on loan?
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