Southend United starlet Charlie Sayers is set to become the first signing of the Antonio Conte era at Premier League giants Tottenham Hotspur, as reported by Echo News.
Former Shrimpers boss Phil Brown admitted back in July that, even at the age of just 17, young Sayers was already pushing for a regular role in the Southend XI.
“I’ve been more than impressed by Charlie and he’s pushing Nathan Ralph and Tom Clifford for being first choice left-back already,” said Brown, the perma-tanned former Bolton and Hull City coach.
“He’s had a steep learning curve coming from non-league but he’s done well. He’s gone from the Under 18s to the Under 23s to the first team.”
Sayers only joined Southend last summer, returning to the club after a spell lower down the non-league pyramid.
But, as Brown himself indicated, the youngster’s development has been so rapid that not only has he forced his way into Southend’s first-team plans, he already appears to be on his way to one of the biggest clubs in the country.
Talk about a whirlwind few months.
Sayers has spent the last couple of days on trial at Tottenham Hotspur.
The defender featured during a recent youth-team clash with Fulham. And while Sayers found himself on the wrong end of a 4-0 battering against the Cottagers, it seems that the one-time Billericay Town starlet did enough to earn himself an extended stay in North London.
Essex-born Sayers is now in talks over a permanent move to the 2019 Champions League finalists.
Comfortable on the ball and blessed with the sort of impressive decision making you might not expect from one so young, Sayers is expected to ply his trade for Tottenham’s U18 side initially before hopefully making the step up to Wayne Burnett’s U23 squad.
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