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Aberdeen have brought the Tottenham Hotspur teenager to the Scottish Premiership on loan.
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Tottenham Hotspur defender Alfie Dorrington has spoken out for the first time since leaving the North London club this week to spend the back half of the season on loan at Scottish Premiership side Aberdeen.
The transfer was confirmed with Monday after the 19-year-old was an unused substitute for Spurs in their 3-0 victory at Tamworth in the FA Cup on Sunday. The England youth international arrives at Pittodrie in search of regular game time having broken through at Spurs this season.
Dons boss Jimmy Thelin appeared pleased with the coup. He said: “Alfie is a really exciting young prospect who recently made his debut for the Tottenham Hotspur first team. He has good speed, stature and good ability on the ball and his arrival will further strengthen our options at centre-back.
“We believe this will be an environment in which he can continue to grow and gain some invaluable match experience in a really competitive league.”
Aberdeen loan Spurs centre-back
The youngster completed his first training session with Aberdeen on Monday, wasting no time in getting involved with the Scottish side, who travel to Rangers in league action on Wednesday night. Speaking to the club website after that session, Dorrington said: “It’s amazing to finally be here. Everyone has been so welcoming; it feels like home already. I know it’s a big Club with a lot of history and the supporters are really passionate so it was a no brainer for me.
“As soon as I spoke to the manager and heard about what he wants to achieve here I just wanted to get up here as soon as possible. I believe the way he wants to play will suit my style and he just wants this to be the best part of my career. It’s my first loan so I want to start as many games as I can, work hard and I hope I can repay the faith the manager has shown in me.”
Aberdeen sit fourth in the Scottish Premiership after 22 fixtures this term but have been porous at the back compared to their rivals. The club has conceded 30 goals so far this season and that has left head coach Thelin looking to strengthen in defence following injuries to Favin Molloy and Jack Milne. The outfit has already signed Kristers Tobers and Jeppe Okkels during the window.
Ange Postecoglou hoping for Tottenham transfer business
Dorrington made his first team debut for Spurs last month against Southampton, having been in the academy since 2018. His departure comes as somewhat of a surprise with Ange Postecoglou struggling for options at the back this season due to injury.
Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero have been sidelined for extensive periods, with Ben Davies and Destiny Udogie also nursing injuries. Tottenham are still expected to recruit in that position this month. Speaking about the club's transfer strategy, Postecoglou said: "Like I said a while ago, we've been planning. A lot of it was going to be around where we're at around this time. Fair to say, we're still a little bit short in a couple of areas and we need to reinforce. January's trickier in terms of what sort of players you can bring in.
“For us, ideally, for any club, I guess, you want to bring in people who are going to make you stronger. I think the fact that, obviously, we're still in the Carabao Cup semi-final, still got Europe, FA Cup, we're in all the competitions, it's not like our schedule's going to ease up at any stage. So, I think it makes sense. We will try and reinforce, where and what number we'll have to wait and see."