It’s been hard for Tottenham Hotspur fans to be positive about anything this season.
Ange Postecoglou’s side have been diabolically poor in the Premier League, are out of the FA Cup and League Cup, and are now putting all their eggs in the Europa League basket.
However, while things are undoubtedly bleak at the moment, there are significant reasons to be quite optimistic about the future, as while many of their senior players have been woefully disappointing this season, their youngsters have not.
The likes of Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall have been excellent, while Mikey Moore looks incredibly promising, and Lucas Williams-Barnet has been tearing things up in the academy.
Moreover, there is another exciting prospect signed by Daniel Levy and Co, who has seriously impressed out on loan this season and seen his valuation soar as a result.
Spurs' loan stars
Before getting to the player in question, it’s worth looking at a couple of Spurs’ other youngsters enjoying stellar campaigns out on loan, starting with Jamie Donley.
The “perfect” prospect, as dubbed by Alasdair Gold, has spent the season with League One side Leyton Orient, and while he endured somewhat of a slow start to life in East London, he has since become a key player for the side.
For example, in 36 appearances for the O’s, totalling 2462 minutes, the Antrim-born star has scored six goals and provided six assists, which comes to an average of a goal involvement every three games, or every 205.16 minutes, which for an attacking midfielder, is pretty special.
Appearances
36
Minutes
2462′
Goals
6
Assists
6
Goal Involvements per Match
0.33
Minutes per Goal Involvement
205.16′
Moreover, he might argue that he should have another goal to his name after his long-range effort against Manchester City in the FA Cup forced Stefan Ortega to score an own goal.
Moving up to the Championship now, 19-year-old Ashley Phillips has become an integral part of Stoke City’s defence since joining the club on a season-long loan in the summer.
The Salford-born prospect has featured in 72% of the Potters’ Championship starting lineups and has made 27 appearances in all competitions, in which he’s scored a goal.
However, while it’s encouraging to see a youngster get so many minutes at a big club, the Lilywhites have another defender out on loan this season whose valuation has soared before even playing for the club.
The Spurs' loanee whose value has exploded
While Gray, Bergvall and Moore have all been grabbing the headlines for Spurs this season, and rightly so, there may well be another youngster whose name is added to that trio of exciting prospects next season: Luka Vušković.
Tottenham agreed to pay £12m for the talented defender in September 2023. Yet, he isn’t allowed to officially join the club until this summer due to regulations introduced after Brexit concerning the registration of foreign players under 18.
It was a considerable amount of money to pay for a player so young, but Levy and Co will be delighted by the fact that before he’s even kicked a ball for Postecoglou, his valuation has increased significantly, with the CIES Football Observatory pricing him at up to €23m, which is about £19m, or £7m more than he cost the North Londoners.
The reason the youngster’s price tag has already increased by around 58% in the season and a half since he put pen to paper is that he’s been seriously impressive while on loan with Belgian outfit KVC Westerloo this year.
For example, despite playing at centre-back, the “freak” talent, as dubbed by analyst Ben Mattinson, has been able to score seven goals and provide one assist in 25 appearances, meaning he’s averaging a goal involvement every 3.12 games – and outscoring Richarlison.
Appearances
25
Minutes
2205′
Goals
7
Assists
1
Goal Involvements per Match
0.32
Minutes per Goal Involvement
275.62′
On top of that, even though he’s still just 18 years old, the Croatian gem already has the physical stature to play in the Premier League, coming in at 6 foot 4 inches tall.
Ultimately, Spurs might not be having the best season this year, but the future of their squad looks incredibly bright, and if Vušković turns out to be even half the player he looks like he could be, then Postecoglou is going to have one sensational defender on his hands.
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