Aston Villa are giving Spurs youngster Josh Onomah the chance to play regularly – and in his preferred role too.
There are worse places for a young player to develop his trade than Tottenham Hotspur. Since Mauricio Pochettino arrived at White Hart Lane in 2014, Harry Kane, Kyle Walker, Danny Rose, Dele Alli and Kieran Trippier have all evolved from talented youngsters to regular England picks.
Meanwhile, academy prospects like Harry Winks and Kyle Walker-Peters look set to begin long and fruitful Premier League lives in North London.
For Josh Onomah, however, the current campaign feels crucial in his development. Pochettino has made clear that he prefers to keep Spurs’ most talented youngsters in the youth ranks, preferring to let them train with the first-team than go out on loan to ensure they fully understand his style of play when an opportunity finally arises.
The manager broke the mould with Onomah, however. After he made just 12 appearances in 2016/17, seven fewer than the season before, Tottenham decided to loan Onomah out to Aston Villa for the season.
And, after just a few weeks of the new campaign, that decision already looks a good one. Big-name additions a la John Terry and Glenn Whelan may have hogged the headlines but Onomah already looks like he could be Villa’s most important summer signing.
He displayed only glimpses of his talent in the opening weeks of the season but his Man of the Match display in Friday’s 1-1 draw with Bristol City, capped by a deflected long-range strike, provided a more prolonged look at the midfielder’s supreme talent.
A tricky winger when first emerging under Pochettino in 2015, Onomah shone in a deeper midfield role as England’s Under-20s won the World Cup this summer.
And it looks like Villa boss Steve Bruce is willing to give him a prolonged run in his new role, something that would have been impossible given the treasure trove of riches available to Pochettino at Tottenham.
This, truly, is a move that could benefit all parties.
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