Jamie Donley is facing a rather unenviable situation at Leyton Orient, with the rules forcing the League One side to leave him out of the matchday squad.
Jamie Donley has not had the expected impact
Donley is thought of as one of the best young talents currently in the Tottenham academy, with the youngster being one of the standout players across Premier League 2 last season.
However, he has not managed to hit the ground running so far at Orient, having started less than half of their league games so far this season and still yet to produce a goal or assist for his new club (Transfermarkt).
The 19-year-old is now having to cope with another big challenge as he tries to force himself back into the plans of manager Richie Wellens.
EFL rules working against Donley
Donley has failed to even make the matchday squad for the O’s last two games against Wycombe and Rotherham.
Football.London have now explained why that is the case, revealing that the League One club are currently over the limit for the number of loan players allowed.
Orient currently have six players on loan while the EFL only allows five to be named in the matchday squad, and Donley has been the unlucky one to miss out as a result.
Tottenham will be reconsidering decision
Given Orient’s issues with loan players, Spurs will be seriously considering recalling Donley in January and loaning him to another EFL club for the second half of the season.
The Lilywhites have a good relationship with the O’s, and one would thus expect the two clubs to be in regular contact over the attacking midfielder’s situation.