Southend United’s Phil Brown admits Tottenham talents Shilow Tracey and Ryan Loft are training with him, but are not on trial

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Tottenham Hotspur duo Shilow Tracey and Ryan Loft have been training with Southend United.

Ryan Loft of Tottenham Hotspur

Southend United boss Phil Brown has told the Southend Echo that Tottenham Hotspur duo Shilow Tracey and Ryan Loft have both been training with the Shrimpers.

Southend sit 12^th in the League One table, having picked up 23 points from 16 games, with six wins, five draws and five defeats as Brown’s side struggle for consistency.

The Shrimpers lie three points off the play-offs and seven points clear of the relegation zone, with Brown no doubt looking up rather than nervously over his shoulder.

Brown has assembled a strong squad at Roots Hall, with former Premier League players Stephen Hendrie, Anton Ferdinand, Michael Turner, Michael Kightly, Marc-Antoine Fortune and Simon Cox all at Brown’s disposal.

However, Southend may now be eyeing up younger talent to bring in during the January transfer window, with two Tottenham talents currently training with the club.

Midfielder Shilow Tracey joined Spurs from non-league Ebbsfleet United in 2016, and has been featuring for Tottenham’s development squad, even playing as a right wing back earlier this season as the 19-year-old looks to kick on.

Meanwhile, forward Ryan Loft is also training with Southend, with the 20-year-old striker – who has come up through the ranks with Spurs – potentially hoping to go out on loan again having been sent to Stevenage earlier this year.

Now, Southend boss Brown has told the Southend Echo that both players have joined Southend for training thanks to the strong relationship between the two sides, though Brown claims neither player is ‘on trial’ right now, meaning it could only be for experience – but loan moves would be beneficial for both players.

“We’ve had two young lads in from Tottenham this week to continue the good relationship we have with the club,” said Brown. “Wayne Burnett is running the under 23s now and we’ve had these young strikers come down for training and for the game but they aren’t on trial or anything like that at this stage,” he added.