We profile an eleven made up of Tottenham Hotspur’s youngest ever Premier League players.
GK: Espen Baardsen (19 years, 147 days) – The American-born Norway international spent five years at White Hart Lane, but only played 22 Premier League games for Tottenham Hotspur. Baardsen transferred to Watford in 2000, playing for two seasons before a single outing for Everton marked the last of his 65 professional league appearances.
DEF: Stephen Carr (17 years, 27 days) – The tenacious full back spent 11 years at Spurs – playing close to 300 games from 1993 to 2004. Carr became Tottenham’s youngest ever representative upon making his debut in September 1993 and remains so to this day; consequently also becoming the youngest player in this line-up. Carr left Spurs in 2004 for four years at Newcastle United, before ending his career with five seasons with Birmingham City.
DEF: Phil Ifil (17 years, 269 days) – The defender made his Spurs bow on the opening day of the 2004-05 season, but would only make a further two appearances for the club before departing for Colchester United in 2008. Aged 25, after his short spells at Dagenham & Redbridge and Kettering Town, Ifill found himself without a club – a status that has lasted for the last five years.
See also: The Premier League’s five youngest debutants – what happened next?
DEF: Sol Campbell (18 years, 78 days) – The 73 time England international made his Spurs debut in December 1992 and would emerge as one of the country’s most talented central defenders over the proceeding decade. Campbell’s finest moment in a Tottenham shirt was when captaining the side to their 1999 League Cup Final victory. After more than 300 games for the Lilywhites, Campbell faced the wrath of many a Spurs fan in 2001 – when deciding to join North London rivals Arsenal on a controversial free transfer.
DEF: Chris Gunter (18 years, 192 days) – Current Reading defender and Wales international Chris Gunter joined Spurs from Cardiff City in January 2008 and made his Premier League debut soon after. Gunter, despite his youthful potential, failed to make the breakthrough into the first team and eventually joined Nottingham Forest – after making a total of five league showings for the White Hart Lane outfit.
MID: Jonathan Blondel (18 years, 149 days) – The Belgium international midfielder was signed by Spurs manager Glenn Hoddle in the summer of 2002. However, Blondel made just two Premier League appearances in his two years in England – before returning to his homeland to sign for Club Brugge. Blodel’s 12 years at Brugge was dogged by injuries and at the age of 30, after multiple operations, Blondel decided to retire in 2015.
See also: The road less travelled – The Non-League to Premier League XI
MID: Adel Taarabt (17 years, 283 days) – The mercurial Taarabt made his Tottenham debut in March 2007, aged just 17, but would only make a total of nine Premier League outings for Spurs before his move to Queens Park Rangers in March 2009. Taarabt’s most consistent phase of his career proved to be at Loftus Road, as he made more than 150 appearances for the R’s. Spells at Fulham, AC Milan and Benfica have all proved transient – in part due to Taarabt’s fitness and application. Last month Taarabt, now 27, joined current side Genoa on loan.
MID: Aaron Lennon (18 years, 135 days) – The winger had already made 11 Premier League appearances for Leeds United prior to signing for Spurs in 2005. Lennon featured for Tottenham for ten seasons, playing more than 350 times for the Lilywhites before a switch to Everton in 2015. The speedster has 21 England international caps to his name, in addition to his only major honour to date, a 2008 League Cup winners medal – achieved whilst at Tottenham.
MID: Andy Turner (17 years, 145 days) – The current assistant manager of Northern Premier League side Coalville Town made 21 Premier League appearances for Spurs between 1992 and 1996 – becoming the club’s youngest ever Premier League goalscorer with a strike against Everton in September 1992. However, this proved to be the highlight of Turner’s career – as the left-sided midfielder proceeded to spend the rest of his time as a professional in the lower echelons of English Football.
FW: Gareth Bale (18 years, 40 days) – The Real Madrid ace signed for Spurs from Southampton in 2007 as a left-back. It wasn’t until the 2010-11 season that Bale was deployed in an attacking role at Spurs – a move that would see the Wales superstar excel in the Premier League for the following three seasons. In 2013, after winning the PFA Players’ Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year awards, in addition to the Football Writers Player of the Year, Bale signed for Madrid in a then world-record transfer fee.
FW: Jamie Slabber (18 years, 74 days) – The forward played just 11 minutes of Premier League football for Spurs – as a substitute against Liverpool towards the end of the 2002-03 season. Upon departing White Hart Lane, Slabber embarked on a rather nomadic career, playing for a spate of non-league clubs. Now 32, Slabber plies his trade in the National League South with Bishop’s Stortford – on loan from Welling United.
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