There’s been a little bit of smoke over the last couple of days around U21 talent Jamie Donley’s future with Tottenham Hotspur, and we now have something a bit more concrete. Nizaar Kinsella, reporting for the BBC, has confirmed newly promoted Championship side Oxford United are in talks to take the young attacker on loan.
Donley has been one of the real bright spots to come through the Spurs youth setup in recent years, with the 19-year-old managing to even secure a limited amount of first team minutes last season. There’d been talk of interest from League 1 sides, but with 8 goals and 17 assists in 23 appearances for Spurs’ U21 side, it’s not exactly a surprise that a side a bit higher in the English football pyramid has come in for him. Though it could be a little too soon for the youngster to make a strong impression at Championship level, there’s also a decent chance Donley doesn’t look too out of place and returns to Spurs with valuable senior minutes under his belt.
As for Oxford United, they ostensibly play a 4-2-3-1 and scored a decent number of goals last season. Their starting XI though was relatively consistent, and though promotion often means changes, from what I can tell there isn’t a clear weak link in United’s midfield that would allow Donley to just waltz in and grab a starting spot. He’ll have to work for his minutes, and the concern here is that as a promoted side, Oxford could end up facing relegation. Sides with the threat of falling back down a league tend to not prioritize the development of young players, being risk averse, and from that perspective it’s not clear if this would be an ideal landing spot for Donley. With that said, it depends on the goal of the loan, which may not just be minutes but also maturity and development in other areas which a stint in the Championship could aid.
There’s additional interest in Tottenham’s youth cadre as well with Jude Soonsup-Bell also linked with a loan away. Coming from Chelsea’s youth system, the youngster has been somewhat of a forgotten man with the U21’s, with the likes of Donley, Yago Santiago, and Will Lankshear earning the lion’s share of the plaudits. His numbers, however, have been nothing to sniff at, with Soonsup-Bell scoring 12 and assisting 8 in 26 appearances, a decent chunk of those from the bench. With other attackers coming through from the other youth sides, and minutes potentially being hard to come by with the U21’s, a loan makes sense as a next step for the 20-year-old to help him develop into a player that could perhaps contribute to the first team.
It’s encouraging to see such interest in Spurs’ youth players, but it’s hardly unsurprising as they swept all before them last season. This is likely the first of many links over the summer, so watch this space.