Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Alfie Devine has admitted feeling ‘embarrassed’ after being released by Premier League rivals Liverpool as a kid.
Devine is being featured in The Athletic’s ‘My Football Journey’ project, tracking young players as they push towards the 2026 World Cup.
Devine will be 21 when the next World Cup starts and he would love to be on the plane with England heading for North America.
That will either require Devine to have become a first-team regular at Tottenham Hotspur or have excelled elsewhere, even if only on loan.
Tottenham certainly have high hopes for Devine, who joined them from Wigan Athletic back in 2020.
The all-action midfielder has picked up 13 caps for England’s Under-19’s and has already played once for Tottenham’s senior team, scoring against Marine.
Devine has had to come through adversity to get here though and has now reflected on being pushed aside by Liverpool.
Devine admits Liverpool exit was embarrassing
The midfielder was born in Warrington and joined nearby Liverpool at academy level.
Sadly for Devine, he didn’t make the grade at Liverpool and they released him at the age of just 11.
Wigan Athletic were happy to swoop in and sign Devine just weeks later and they gave him a platform to shine.
Other Premier League clubs saw Devine’s potential but it was Tottenham who managed to win the race and they are now hugely excited by the teenager.
Devine has told The Athletic that the big thing for him at the time was feeling embarrassed.
Devine was in his first year of high school at the time and having to cope with questions asking why he wasn’t with Liverpool anymore was tough.
The Spurs ace now has a different outlook, understanding that many top players were released by other clubs.
Even Harry Kane was once let go by Arsenal and has now become of the greatest strikers in Premier League history.
Devine has no need to feel embarrassed anymore and would no doubt love to prove Liverpool wrong by become a Premier League and England regular.
“I was in year seven when I was released by Liverpool,” said Devine. “The hardest part was worrying about what my mates were going to say. Feeling embarrassed about it when you shouldn’t. I didn’t want to go to school because people would ask, ‘Why aren’t you at Liverpool anymore?’. You don’t want to say you got released. But it’s not really a bad thing, lots of top professionals have been released from clubs at an early age,” he added.
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