He may not be at the club right now, but Jamie Donley is one of the hottest prospects at Tottenham Hotspur, and we’ve got the lowdown on the youngster.
A product of the Tottenham Hotspur academy, Jamie Donley has made quite the name for himself in North London already in his short career.
Donley has been in and around Ange Postecoglou’s senior squad, but the decision was made to send the playmaker out on loan this season, and he’s currently at Leyton Orient.
While he’s away, now is the perfect time to get to know Jamie Donley better, so we’ve broken down his career to date, how much he’s worth and what he’s paid, and what his best role is on the pitch.
Jamie Donley came through the Spurs academy
Jamie Donley is one of the brightest talents to emerge from the Tottenham Hotspur academy in quite some time.
He joined the Under-18 squad in 2021, and was promoted to the Under-21 side just a year later after a number of impressive performances.
Donley was part of the Tottenham development squad which stormed to the Premier League 2 title in the 2023/24 season. He scored five goals and registered 12 assists in 17 games in the title-winning campaign.
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Ange Postecoglou has used Jamie Donley sparingly
Naturally, Donley’s performances caught the eye, and he was given the chance to show what he can do for the senior squad last season.
Donley made three brief appearances in the Premier League under Ange Postecoglou, plus another cameo in the FA Cup. He was also an unused substitute ten times in the league last term.
Postecoglou kept Donley close to the first-team squad throughout the summer of 2024, including the youngster in his pre-season tour of Asia.
Jamie Donley market value and salary
It is hard to pin down an exact market value for Jamie Donley, mainly because of his age. According to Transfermarkt, the 19-year-old is only worth around £1.25m, but that is pretty wide of the mark in truth.
Given his huge potential, you’d expect Spurs to put a potential future price tag of at least £10m on Donley, but probably closer to £20m as he is a homegrown talent if he goes on to fulfill his early potential.
Donley’s current contract runs right through to June 2029, which only adds to his value. Donley is currently paid £4,100 per week at Spurs, giving him an annual salary of £213,200.
That figure puts him above Will Lankshear, but below just about every other player in the Spurs senior squad.
Spending the 2024/25 season with Leyton Orient
In the summer of 2024, the decision was made to send Jamie Donley out on loan to League One outfit Leyton Orient. However, it has not looked like a good move so far.
Donley has struggled to get a consistent run in the team, having been on the bench a handful of times and even being left out of the matchday squad completely.
Orient have too many loan players in their squad and have to make adjustments each time they play in order to satisfy the quota they are allowed to include in a matchday squad.
This is having a serious impact on Donley’s development, and there is a very real chance the youngster could end up being recalled by Spurs earlier than planned.
Jamie Donley has represented England and Northern Ireland
As Donley was actually born in Northern Ireland, he has turned out for the country at youth level across the Under-15s, 16s, and 19s already, but has featured more prominently for England.
Donley played seven consecutive matches for the England Under-19s at the backend of last year and early in 2024, and even captained the side for the friendlies against Morocco and USA.
He scored five goals in three games in November 2023, in the friendly matches against Romania, Japan, and Mexico Under-19s.
It remains to be seen which nation Donley will pledge his allegiance to at senior level. If his career develops the way we hope and expect, he should have a future with the Three Lions, but there will always be the chance to opt for Northern Ireland instead.
Jamie Donley’s best position
Jamie Donley is a very versatile player, but he is arguably most effective when playing in the number 10 role, occupying the space behind the central striker.
He is also capable of pushing up and playing as a striker himself, in a sort of false nine role, and can also play out wide, though he is not quite as well-suited in those areas.
Donley has great footwork and ball control, loves to dribble past his man, and possesses brilliant vision and a strong range of passing. All of this makes him the perfect successor to someone like James Maddison in years to come.
He is left-footed, has a keen eye for goal, and has even been compared to Spurs legend Harry Kane in the past.
Jamie Donley’s height, weight, age, and social media
Donley is 1.83m tall and weighs 70kg, giving him a fairly slight frame, though he does have good agility and a surprising level of upper body strength.
He was born in Antrim, Northern Ireland, on January 3, 2005, making him 19-years-old at the time of writing. Although he was born in Northern Ireland, Donley was raised in London, England, from a young age.
You can follow Jamie Donley on Instagram, where he has close to 68k followers, or on Twitter/X, where he has just under 12k followers.