Ten years have passed since the release of Football Manager 2015, prompting us to check in on what became of Tottenham’s much-hyped wonderkids from that particular edition of the wildly popular football management simulation game.
Coming right at the start of the Mauricio Pochettino era, Spurs had a couple of gems in their academy system that would soon become integral parts of the first-team.
Having picked them out via the FMScout archives, here are Spurs’ eight wonderkids from Football Manager 2015 – and where they’re at a decade later.
Eric Dier
After almost 10 years of service and well over 300 appearances, Dier departed Tottenham in January 2024 to take on a new challenge at Bayern Munich.
An initial loan spell was enough to convince Bayern to sign the defender permanently and, even though he’s more of a bit-part player under Vincent Kompany, Dier is now playing Champions League football while Spurs kick their heels in the Europa League.
Cameron Carter-Vickers
Formerly a perennial loanee, going out on loan to no fewer than seven clubs while on Tottenham’s books, it never looked as though US international Carter-Vickers was ever going to break through and stake his claim at his parent club.
He never made a Premier League appearance for Spurs and his only opportunities came in the cup competitions.
However, the defender made a big step up during his final loan away, playing a vital role as Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic took the Scottish title back from Rangers.
Carter-Vickers remains an important player at Parkhead and has helped Celtic cement their status as the dominant force in Scottish football.
Kyle Walker-Peters
Walker-Peters was on the fringes of Tottenham’s first team throughout his time in north London, making 24 appearances in all competitions, including the Champions League.
In January 2020, the full-back joined Southampton on loan and made the move permanent that summer.
He has since established himself as a solid Premier League full-back, making over 140 appearances for the club and helping the Saints win promotion in May 2024.
Nabil Bentaleb
“I would be a hypocrite to say that I would not like to be there, and I am not a hypocrite,” Bentaleb told The Independent in February 2019, reflecting on his time at Tottenham. “But this is football.”
The Algeria international looked set to become an important squad member at Spurs, starting the 2015 League Cup final, but fell out with Mauricio Pochettino before being sold to Schalke in 2017.
Now 29, Bentlaeb is playing in Ligue 1 with Lille which sounds about right.
READ NEXT: Where are they now? Jose Mourinho’s Spurs XI which thrashed Man Utd 6-1 at Old Trafford
TRY A QUIZ: Can you name Tottenham’s top 30 goalscorers in the Premier League?
Dele Alli
Once one of the brightest prospects in English football, Alli’s stock waned so much at Tottenham that they were happy to let him go for free.
He joined Everton midway through the 2021-22 season but failed to make much of an impact in their battle against the drop and has since been loaned out to Turkish Super Lig giants Besiktas – but he couldn’t reignite his career away from the spotlight out in Istanbul.
Dele has since returned to his parent club and spoke refreshingly candidly about the impact of his tough upbringing and mental health battles.
Despite technically being a free agent, Everton are giving him all the time he needs to get himself right to play again. We’re all rooting for him.
Joshua Onomah
Highly rated during his time at Tottenham, Onomah never quite realised that early potential and was sold to Fulham in 2019.
He twice helped the Cottagers get promoted as they yo-yoed between the Premier League and Championship, but barely featured under Marco Silva in 2022-23 and was released at the end of his contract.
Onomah spent a brief stint alongside Woodman and Ledson at Preston but never extended his contract beyond an initial six months.
He spent last season out of the game entirely, beyond a trial at Stoke City that never went anywhere, but has now signed a short-term deal with League One side Blackpool.
Harry Kane
Ten years ago, Kane was just about to break into the Tottenham first team. He is now England and Tottenham’s record goalscorer and continues to score freely at Bayern Munich.
QUIZ: Can you name every country Harry Kane has scored against for England?
Ismael Azzaoui
Definitely the most obscure player in this list, Azzaoui lasted a single, appearance-free season at Spurs before being offloaded to Wolfsburg in 2015.
The most prolific spell of the striker’s nomadic career came in the form of seven goals in 50 games for Dutch side Heracles. He now plays in Azerbaijan for Araz-Naxcivan.