Nottingham Forest boss Mark Warburton has a good knowledge of Tottenham’s academy.
Filip Lesniak celebrates with Harry Kane
Tottenham Hotspur announced the departures of several of their young players last week, with a couple of surprise names on the list.
Nottingham Forest manager Mark Warburton has raided Hotspur Way for talent in the past and it would not be surprising to see him put his scouting network to good use once again.
The two players Forest should be looking at are midfielders Filip Lesniak and Zenon Stylianides.
Tottenham’s Filip Lesniak in action against Chelsea’s Fankaty Dabo (R)
Lesniak is closer to playing regular football, making his debut for Spurs at the end of last season.
He provided an assist for Harry Kane in a 6-1 away win over Leicester, and his release caught shocked Tottenham fans off guard last week.
The Slovakian defensive midfielder, 21, is now a free agent and would be a sensible addition for a Forest team already establishing a core of talented young players.
Fellow midfielder Stylianides is more of a raw talent at just 19. He is a physically gifted teenager who models his game on Mousa Dembele.
Both player have featured for Tottenham in the UEFA Youth League and could harbour realistic ambitions of breaking into Forest’s team.
Tottenham Hotspur’s Zenon Stylianides in action against Manchester United
Warburton signed two Tottenham players for Rangers in 2015, moving for Dominic Ball and Nathan Oduwa on loan. He was unsuccessful with an approach for Harry Winks last summer, the Daily Record reported.
The year previous he benefitted from signing Alex Pritchard from Spurs on loan at Brentford.
It would not be a surprise to see Warburton pounce and make a couple of low risk additions to his Forest squad.
Mark Warburton manager of Nottingham Forest
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