The US youth international defender made his first-team bow for Spurs last month and is now being tipped for a fast-track promotion to Klinsmann’s senior squad.
Speaking in a Facebook Q&A, US national team head coach Jurgen Klinsmann has revealed that he is keeping a close eye on Tottenham Hotspur defender Cameron Carter-Vickers with a view to eventually bringing him into his squad.
Carter-Vickers, 18, first joined Tottenham at the age of 11 and has since risen through the ranks at White Hart Lane to establish himself as one of the club’s most exciting prospects.
The teenage centre-back, who signed a new contract until 2019 last week, has been a consistent presence on the first-team bench so far this season after captaining the Under-21s last term and was recently handed his senior debut, playing 90 minutes in the 5-0 EFL Cup victory over Gillingham.
Despite being born and raised in Southend, he has also represented the US through Under-18 to Under-23 level since 2014, having qualified for an American passport through his father, and there have already been calls for him to be fast-tracked into the senior squad ahead of the final round of 2018 CONCACAF World Cup qualifying, also known as “The Hexagonal”.
There was no place for him on the roster for the team’s upcoming friendlies against Cuba and New Zealand, respectively, but Klinsmann acknowledged on Tuesday that the highly-rated youngster could push himself into contention for a call-up if he sees more action with Spurs over the coming months.
“Absolutely Cameron is in our picture,” the former Tottenham striker said in his Q&A when asked about Carter-Vickers. “He’s a very exciting young player coming through the ranks, but he also needs to break into things slowly, get into the team and get some minutes, which he did the other day in a cup game.
“But this week he’s going to be with the Under-20 team. Our Under-20 team is playing the Four Nations Tournament in England. They’re going to play Germany, Holland and England in these upcoming 10 days, which is very exciting for this young group of players. Cameron Carter-Vickers is part of that group playing those three friendlies in England, so he can stay in the country right now.”
Unsurprisingly, Carter-Vickers’ obvious potential has reportedly attracted plenty of attention from the English FA and The Mirror alleged last month that recent enquiries have been made over whether he would be willing to devote his international future to the Three Lions.
The fact he has no senior caps yet means he still eligible to switch allegiances to the country of his birth, but it is believed that the Spurs starlet remains fully committed to the USA going forward [h/t Sports Illustrated].
A first call-up for next month’s crucial World Cup qualifiers against Mexico and Costa Rica seems unlikely at this point, but it certainly would not be a surprise to see him playing for Klinsmann’s side soon rather than later given how he is already starting to make his mark on the Spurs first-team at just 18.
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