A lot of Tottenham Hotspur fans were, to put it mildly, puzzled that Tottenham Hotspur academy graduate and central defender Alfie Dorrington didn’t start in Spurs’ 3-0 ET win over Tamworth in the FA Cup. After all, this was a Premier League team playing away against a club in the fifth tier, surely Ange Postecoglou would give some kids a chance to impress.
Dorrington didn’t make it off the bench at the Lamb Ground, but he might be getting an even bigger chance shortly. According to Twitter account @Lilywhite_Rose, which is very clued in to the comings and goings of Spurs’ youth academy and frequently has news and info before it becomes public, Dorrington is set to head on loan to Scottish Premier League side Aberdeen until the end of the season.
Aberdeen started off hot in the SPL, going undefeated in their first 10 matches, winning nine of them. But then the wheels fell off. Since, Aberdeen has just one win in their last 13 games, putting them in a distant fourth place in the table. Along with that, their best defender Gavin Malloy underwent shoulder surgery recently and is out until May, and Malloy’s backup is... not especially favored, according to fans.
So if Dorrington’s loan to Aberdeen is confirmed, that gives him a real shot to get some serious minutes in Scottish first division football if he can get up to speed quickly and plays well. It’s a super opportunity for a player who is unlikely to get many minutes at Spurs no matter what, and especially when Cuti Romero and Micky van de Ven return to the lineup at the end of January.
So this could be a very, very good move both for Aberdeen and for Dorrington, if he can work his way into the squad. Go much below Celtic and Rangers and the quality drops off significantly in the SPL, but that might not be a terrible thing — plenty of bad Scottish teams for Dorrington to play against, and the occasional big-time match against Celtic and Rangers.
We’ll wait for the official confirmation, but this looks like a pretty solid loan.