Shaq Coulthirst’s perfect hat trick in Barcelona took Spurs level on points with the Catalans at the top of their Next Gen group, with the U21 side out on their own at the top of their group in the U21 Premier League.
Last season Spurs’ youth prospects were underlined by an excellent run in the Next Gen cup that was only curtailed by them voluntarily withdrawing after realising they had fielded two ineligible players. In the group stages of the tournament, they thrashed eventual winners Inter 7-1, and the stars from that side are impressing again this year.
A 4-1 win in Barcelona is a great achievement at any age level, and Coulthirst’s hat trick will be the performance everyone is talking about. There were other exceptional prospects on display, Alex Pritchard, who got the fourth goal, has been in unstoppable form across the different youth competitions, and sits joint with Coulthirst and Ajax’s Fischer as top scorer in the Next Gen competition.
Spurs’ youth performances have arguably been even better in the U21 Premier League. In their last two games they have beaten the other two outstanding youth sides in their group, first winning 4-2 against Manchester United, before demolishing league leaders Newcastle 6-0.
Along with Pritchard, John Obika and Cristian Ceballos have been netting regularly in the U21 league, and Dean Parrett, Ryan Mason and Nabil Bentaleb have also been impressive. With the immensely talented Ivorian Souleymane Coulibaly also in the ranks, the Spurs youth setup looks chockfull of potential stars of the future.
These stars are beginning to make their presence known in the first team. Steven Caulker has been at the heart of the defence for several weeks. Jake Livermore, Andros Townsend and Tom Carroll have also made appearances recently, and the latter may be vital in covering Spurs central midfield injury crisis in the next couple of weeks.
With the new training centre in place, the club has an academy set up that should be able to rival the very best in the country in terms of developing talent, and that can be a driving force for success in the coming years.
All in all the future looks bright for Spurs youth development. As with any young players, it’s hard to know how well they will progress at a senior level, but with so many talented prospects, the odds are in Spurs’ favour that some will be battering down the door to the senior side before long.
Are you excited about Spurs youth prospects? How long before they impact the first team?
image: © hollidaypics
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