Some news you may have missed, especially for those of you who follow our Tottenham Hotspur loanees: midfielder Matthew Craig has been recalled from his loan at Barnsley, and has headed out on loan again to Mansfield Town as per the Tottenham Hotspur website.
Craig, for those who remember (and for those who would rather forget) made history as he and his brother Michael became the first identical twins to appear in a Tottenham Hotspur matchday squad... as Spurs lost a Europa Conference League qualification playoff match to Pacos de Ferreira during the heady days of Nuno Espirito Santo’s reign. Proud.
With twin Michael having been released by the club nearly three years ago, Matthew has continued to attempt to carve out a career in football at the top level, with loans down the English pyramid both last season and this. At Barnsley, he had a solid start, gaining regular starting spots in midfield across the first quarter of the season; unfortunately, he then began to see minutes dwindle, being relegated first to a bench role and then being left out of the squad entirely in Barnsley’s last four matches.
That clearly hasn’t sat well with Spurs, who have promptly organized him another loan to League One, with destination Mansfield Town just a few spots behind Barnsley in the table. Spurs will be hoping to see Craig continue the start he made at Barnsley, where he received rave reviews early on from some of The Tykes faithful.
I’m not going to lie to you, though. Craig is 21, and it’s hard to see him progressing much higher in the pyramid at this stage of his development. For the club (and player), it’s more likely now about maximizing value for a transfer so that Craig can continue to build a career in the football league - and there’s no shame in that!
Good luck to Matthew at Mansfield Town!