Tottenham Hotspur have made quite a name for themselves as a club that looks to turn young prospects into established stars.
Harry Kane is a prime example of a Tottenham talent who got his opportunity and is widely considered one of the greatest players to ever wear the shirt.
More recently, the likes of Pape Matar Sarr, Destiny Udogie, Lucas Bergvall and Archie Gray have joined Spurs and become established first-teamers.
In addition, Ange Postecoglou has given opportunities to the likes of Mikey Moore, Damola Ajayi and Jamie Donley during his time at N17.
Now, Tottenham technical director Johan Lange has spoken about three youngsters he expects will be ready to push for the first team in pre-season.
Will Lankshear, Luca Gunter and Yang Min-Hyeok will be ‘ready to compete’ for Tottenham first-team spot
Lange spoke about Will Lankshear, Luca Gunter and Yang Min-Hyeok, all of whom left Tottenham on loan in the January transfer window.
The director stressed how important it is to get “regular game time in good environments” and then said they’d be “ready to compete in pre-season” once they’re back.
“I think also in the previous interviews that we have done, the loan market for me is a very important step for the players’ development,” Lange told the Tottenham media team.
“Again, over 80 per cent of all the players making their Premier League debut, starting debut, they have been out on loan.
“If you take some of the most important players in this club’s history, they have also had a loan as part of their development.
“So, to have a strong loan process is very important.
“Now, with Will, Luca and Yang, we felt that it was the right step in their career to go out and have more regular game time in good environments.
“That is an important part. They will then return in the summer and be ready to compete in pre-season.”
Where Lankshear, Gunter and Yang are now playing
Lankshear will be plying his trade for West Bromwich Albion from now until the end of the season.
The Baggies currently sit sixth in the Championship table on 44 points, so Lankshear will hope to get them over the line and into the playoffs.
Meanwhile, Gunter has gone out on loan at National League outfit Wealdstone FC, who are currently 21st in the table.
With the bottom four teams being relegated, Gunter will be looking to keep his side in the fifth tier.
Finally, Yang has gone out on loan to Queens Park Rangers, who sit 13th in the Championship table.
QPR are on 41 points, just three behind sixth-placed West Brom, so an exciting playoff race is on the cards for over half of the division.