Ange Postecoglou is undoubtedly helping Tottenham create a very exciting squad for the future. With Lucas Bergvall and Archie Gary, both 18, among the summer arrivals into the first-team, Spurs have brought an array of young talent to their squad and that is without even mentioning those coming through the academy.
Mikey Moore has been touted as the next big thing coming out of Hotspur Way with Will Lankshear as another to have impressed. The likes of Alfie Devine and Jamie Donley are at different stages of their progress with the young duo both out on loan at Belgian outfit Westerlo and League One side Leyton Orient, respectively.
Central defender Luka Vuskovic is also playing and thoroughly enjoying his football at Westerlo having been signed by Spurs from Hadjuk Split when he was just 16. The teenager enjoyed a temporary spell at Radomiak Radom in Poland but moved over to Belgium to secure more minutes before officially being eligible to join Tottenham next February when he turns 18.
One centre-back who has seen his development interrupted through injury though, is Alfie Dorrington. A plaguing hamstring issue has seen him miss a large portion of 2024, though he returned to action last week against Valencia in the Premier League International Cup.
Around the hour mark, Dorrington was substituted with it being his first taste of action in some time. The following week, the 18-year-old was back in the starting XI for Tottenham's under-21s for the Bristol Street Motors Trophy clash against Exeter City.
The League One side have made a bright start to the season and it was clear to see they were high on confidence with Dorrington required to be alert from the very off. Inside the opening 15 minutes, the teenager cleared a number of dangerous crosses with his defensive positioning spot on.
As Spurs dominated possession in the early exchanges, Exeter were attempting numerous long balls over the top, but the high line, which was marshalled by Dorrington, saw their attackers caught offside a combined eight times in the first half.
Considering how Postecoglou likes his defence to set up, it was quite clear pretty quickly how easily Dorrington would fit in. During the clash at St James Park, Dorrington also showed he may well be the perfect blend of Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven.
A clever Exeter pass in behind beat the offside trap but over five yards he showed superb recovery pace to mop up the danger, something that Van de Ven has become synonymous with. While also showing his defensive capabilities, in possession, Dorrington was very comfortable and showed signs of his passing ability.
In the second half, he expertly launched a first-time pass across the pitch and perfectly into the path of Oliver Irow which drew significant applause from the away end.
However, when those options weren't on, he was more than happy to drive forward with a number of jinking runs seeing him go past several Exeter midfielders, something Spurs fans will have seen both Van de Ven and Romero do countless times.
The hosts did open the scoring from a corner while Dorrington was still on the pitch but it was an excellent set-piece routine from Exeter that not many teams would have stopped. As was the case the previous Tuesday, Dorrington was withdrawn around the 60-minute mark.
At full time, he received significant applause and a chant from the travelling contingent with his response being to smile and offer a thumbs up in their direction. On the day, Dorrington clearly showed why he is highly rated at Spurs and also why Postecoglou has taken a keen interest.
Injuries have impacted him but if he continues with performances like that, which show him as the perfect Postecoglou defender, it won't be long before he is making his mark in the senior team.
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