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Tottenham Hotspur academy graduate, Jamie Donley appears to be catching the eye of scouts with Marco Palma naming the 19-year-old in his best eleven of talents born in 2005.

Donley is enjoying his first loan away from Tottenham

Donley’s standout season with Spurs’ youth side earned him his first loan move outside N17 to League One side, Leyton Orient.

The O’s also signed Jamie’s fellow U21 teammate, Josh Keeley, with the pair playing against Premier League side, Brentford, on Tuesday evening.

The game was one of Donley’s most notable performances for the O’s since joining the League One side in late August. The Athletic’s Jay Harris wrote on X: “Jamie Donley is replaced by Dan Agyei for the final 20 minutes 19yo THFC attacking midfielder threatening throughout and made some clever passes”.

A scout has named Donley as a top talent in his age group

In a piece for TuttoMercatoWeb, scout, Marco Palma, has named Tottenham’s Jamie Donley in his ‘class of 2005’ team. The 19-year-old is named alongside Aston Villa’s Kosta Nedeljkovic in a starting eleven full of hotly-tipped teenagers.

Palma explained his decision to include Donley by stating: “English of Northern Irish origins, Tottenham product, won an U21 Premier League, left-footed who returns a lot in the middle of the field and can make many assists. He has progression, physical and in front of goal he is cold”.

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While Donley is yet to record a goal or assist in six appearances for Leyton Orient, there will be hope that the teenager can replicate his composed finishing style at youth level in League One to aid what is currently a struggling Orient side.

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Having watched Jamie Donley plenty of times when photographing Spurs’ U21’s last season, it is fair to say the 19-year-old was the heartbeat of a squad full of plenty of players that will go on to have great careers such as Tyrese Hall, Will Lankshear and George Abbott.

Whilst Donley is yet to record a goal contribution for the O’s, his inclusion in this team is well earned with the attacking midfielder consistently standing out as one of the best players in PL2 for a number of seasons now.

Glenn Hoddle believes that Guglielmo Vicario needs to play more on the front foot when it comes to defending his own penalty area from set-pieces.

Set-pieces are a problem for Tottenham

Set-pieces have been Tottenham’s Achilles heel for the entirety of Ange Postecoglou’s time in charge of the North London club, with the latest example coming in the derby on Sunday.

In a game in which Spurs had the majority of the ball, they ultimately lost all three points because they couldn’t prevent Gabriel from rising highest to head home from a corner.

That goal was Tottenham’s 18th conceded from a set-piece since the start of the 2023/24 season (TNT), which tends to imply the Lilywhites have a persistent problem when it comes to defending their own box.

Glenn Hoddle is not impressed with Vicario

Glenn Hoddle believes that teams are actively targeting Vicario between the Tottenham sticks because of his tendency to go backwards instead of claiming or punching from set-pieces.

The North London Derby would tend to reinforce that hypothesis, as Vicario was more distracted by pushing Arsenal players than he was actually dealing with the cross or resulting header.

Hoddle told Premier League Productions (15/09/24 from 16:15): “The goalkeeper has an Achilles heel. Other clubs have seen it – it’s any ball in that inswinging area into that six-yard box

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“His instinct is to go backwards. He’s never looking to come out. He’s involved in the battle up but he’s got to detach himself away from that and think to himself: ‘Where is my intent?’

“His body is always going backwards – he’s got to come and punch some of those balls,’ Hoddle continued.

“Arsenal have played that corner because time and time again he’s conceded from that situation. He flapped at one in the first half, he wasn’t convincing.

“He’s a good shotstopper but he has got to come and make himself more physical, come and get more balls and punch more balls.

“‘He’s not got to catch it there but clear the area. And until he does, they are going to concede even more goals.”

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While Vicario does need to improve in these situations, it is also very much a team problem. Spurs don’t have that one commanding player who you know is going to clear the ball every time – like a Van Dijk or a Saliba. Romero and Van de Ven need to be stronger here.

Tottenham Hotspur is a money-making machine these days, but one big deal still hasn’t been sorted out: The naming rights for the stadium. Now, a new report claims four huge corporations have been contacted regarding the matter in an attempt to find a lucrative sponsor for the ground.

£150m deal expected for Spurs

The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was opened back in 2019, and has since been recognised as one of the finest stadiums in world football.

It also brings in a lot of money for the club, with Spurs being bumped up to eighth place in Deloitte’s list of the richest football clubs in terms of revenue.

But, the fact the ground is still called the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is a constant reminder that, for all the business acumen Daniel Levy possesses, he has still not been able to strike a deal for the naming rights on the venue.

According to Sportcal (via TBR Football), that could all change in the near future. Apparently, while Spurs are keen to find a £25m-per-year sponsorship deal, a £150m 10-year agreement is seen as being more viable.

With this in mind, it is said that discussions have been held with Google, FedEx, Uber, and Amazon as prospective sponsors have been sounded out.

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However, it is not known exactly when these talks actually took place. The report adds that preliminary negotiations with Amazon and Google began and ended back in 2022.

Spurs want big money

A lot has been said about the naming rights to the stadium in the past. Pete O’Rourke previously told Football Insider that Spurs were looking for a ‘big money’ investment when it comes to the sponsorship deal.

Meanwhile, Stefan Borson told Football Insider that Tottenham and Manchester United would end up battling it out for those big naming rights deals as the two clubs look to expand.

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I really like the idea of our ground just being called the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, as the club should be the main brand anyway. But, I get it; with that kind of money potentially on the table, a naming rights deal does make fiscal sense.

TBR Football reveal that Tottenham continue to price out interested parties by demanding a huge fee for their stadium naming rights.

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium opened in 2019

It has been over five years since the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium opened but the club are yet to find a naming rights partner for the 62,850-seater stadium.

It was previously reported that Spurs had held talks with the likes of Google, Uber, FedEx and Amazon about potentially being the naming rights partner (The Times).

However, those talks seemingly did not progress and it does not appear as if the club are particularly close to striking a deal with anyone at the moment.

Spurs have priced out any interested parties

Football Finance expert Kieran Maguire previously told Football Insider that Daniel Levy will still be confident of finding an appropriate naming rights partner, suggesting that Spurs are looking for a long-term deal.

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However, TBR Football now say that so far, the Tottenham chairman has priced out anyone who has shown interest.

The publication explains that the Lilywhites supremo initially wanted a deal worth more than £20m per year, which no one has expressed a desire to pay.

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If Tottenham really wanted to find a naming rights partner, they would be able to strike a deal relatively quickly, albeit for perhaps a slightly lower fee than they wanted.

One suspects that the club are quite happy to continue with the generic name ‘Tottenham Hotspur Stadium’ as the club’s brand accrues all the benefits when the venue hosts non-footballing events.

The international break is coming to an end, and one Tottenham Hotspur player can walk away from the recent round of matches with his head held high, after helping his country grab a win with a spectacular goal-line clearance.

Ben Davies to the rescue

As Tottenham‘s longest-serving current player and one of the most experienced heads in the Wales squad, Ben Davies is a reliable and important figure for both club and country.

In Wales’ latest game, he proved just how crucial he can be, by being in the right place at the right time once more to ensure Craig Bellamy grabbed his first win as manager of the Red Dragons.

The Nations League is underway, and after a disappointing 0-0 draw to Turkey at the weekend, Wales bounced back with a 2-1 win over Montenegro.

Early goals from Kieffer Moore and Harry Wilson gave the British side the lead, but their opponents made things uncomfortable later on, pulling one back on 73 minutes.

But, the three points went to Wales, and Davies was integral in securing the win, after throwing himself in front of the ball to stop it from crossing the line, preventing a certain goal.

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Considering Wales only won the match by one goal in the end, it looks to be a pretty important action from the long-serving Spurs player.

Wales show fight to secure the win

It was a resilient performance from Wales in general, and another typically hard-working, dogged performance from the Spurs defender.

Speaking to the press after the game (via Sgorio) Davies hailed the determination of his side, saying: “We have to fight sometimes, that’s what we’ve done.”

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Love this from Davies. He’s done it a few times for Spurs, too, and just shows his awareness and willingness to throw his body on the line for the cause.

He might not be able to contribute that much for Spurs this season and beyond, but what a servant he has been for club and country.

Alasdair Gold is hopeful that Son Heung-min will pen a new contract with Tottenham Hotspur soon, pointing out that the South Korean is relishing the chance to lead this young Spurs side.

Heung-min Son – Captain, Leader, Legend

Son is not just the club’s longest-serving player but he is now seen as Mr. Tottenham, with the forward very much being the face of the club since the departure of Harry Kane a little over a year ago.

The 32-year-old continues to be extremely important both on and off the pitch, with Ange Postecoglou’s men relying on their star man to have a great season in order to fulfil their grand ambitions.

Although Son’s contract is due to expire next summer, Spurs do have the option to activate a one-year extension in the deal.

It was reported by Fichajes a few days ago that the Tottenham star is one of a number of high-profile Premier League stats that multiple Saudi Pro League clubs will target next summer.

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New contract for Heung-min Son?

When asked if he expects Son to sign a new contract with the Lilywhites, Gold has now said on a Q&A on Football.London: “I would hope so.

“Spurs know how much he means to them, he’s still a wonderful player in his 30s as well as their biggest star.

“Son seems to be relishing being the captain. The club have got the security of the extra year option but it’s a deal that surely gets done if both parties want it.”

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Son is not the sort of character who is motivated purely by money and I do not see him moving to Saudi Arabia at this stage.

He will feel that he still has a few more years of football left in him at the highest level and I see him signing a new deal with Tottenham before too long.

Alasdair Gold does not think Tottenham Hotspur will be looking towards the free agent market at the moment, explaining that Ange Postecoglou is very particular about the kind of player he wants to add to the squad.

Tottenham had a busy transfer window

While Postecoglou and Johan Lange appear relatively pleased with the business that the club have done this summer, the same cannot be said of all Spurs fans.

A section of the fan base has been extremely underwhelmed by the summer and have questioned why the Lilywhites have not added more proven quality to their squad.

Tottenham might still have an opportunity to add some experience to their ranks, with the likes of Adrien Rabiot, Anthony Martial and Memphis Depay currently without a club.

However, Gold doubts Postecoglou would consider adding any of these players to his squad unless there are injuries to key stars, with the journalist pointing out that the Australian does not like stop-gap signings.

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Free agents are unlikely at Tottenham

When asked about the possibility of Tottenham exploring a move for Rabiot, Gold said in a Q&A on Football.London: “Unless there are any injuries, on international duty or in training, in the next week before the Premier League squad registration needs to be made, I’d be surprised if there was a free agent signing.

“Mainly because Postecoglou is always talking about not signing short-term, stop-gap players for the sake of having another body. He only wants players that fit his very specific system and if he’d wanted any of the available free agents then they’d have gone for them beforehand.

“He made a big point when I asked about centre-backs of saying that they didn’t just sign anybody because there was nobody available that he wanted.

“Like I say, I think it would take an injury and big squad cover issues to make them move for anyone with the likes of Rabiot, Martial and Depay out there.”

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I do not share the pessimism of many Tottenham fans as I do not see any gaping holes in the squad at the moment. While of course there is room for improvement, we were never going to do a complete overhaul of the squad in one or two windows.

Tottenham Hotspur have made some incredible signings over the years, but they’ve also missed a trick or two in the transfer market. Now, David Pleat has spoken candidly about four Premier League stars he recommended to the club, and explained how his advice was ignored.

Pleat had been heavily involved with Spurs over the last 40 years, as manager, and more recently as part of the scouting team. He announced he was stepping down earlier this summer.

Throughout his time at the club, Pleat helped identify the likes of Heung-min Son, Dele Alli, and Ben Davies. But in his latest interview with The Athletic, he revealed he wasn’t always listened to, and as a result, Spurs missed out on some incredible bargains. Here’s a look at what we could have won.

Jarrod Bowen

Apparently, Pleat had watched Jarrod Bowen during his time at Hull City, and told Spurs to snap up the winger for a fee thought to be around £8m.

Bowen would eventually join West Ham for around £22m in 2020 and is now the club captain, an England international, and one of the Premier League‘s best wingers.

Ivan Toney

Spurs were repeatedly linked with Ivan Toney over the last year, before eventually deciding to sign Dominic Solanke. Toney would ultimately end up at Saudi Pro-League side Al Ahli in a reported £40m deal.

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Turns out, the Lilywhites could have saved all that hassle over the summer by snapping up Toney years ago. Apparently, Pleat had recommended the striker to Tottenham for a similar price to the £8m Bowen would have cost.

Ollie Watkins

Perhaps the most impressive find for Pleat was his recommendation that Spurs sign Ollie Watkins, way back when he was playing in midfield for Exeter City. He eventually joined Brentford for around £6m in 2017, before making a big £28m move to Aston Villa in 2020.

Watkins was playing in League Two at the time Pleat spotted him, and uses this as an example that top clubs should not be so focused on scouting European leagues for the next big thing when the lower leagues of English football can produce such gems.

James Maddison

Admittedly, we got this one in the end, but James Maddison could have been a Spurs player a long, long time ago if Pleat had his way.

On the missed opportunity, Pleat said: “The boy (James) Maddison was so good it was like he had eyes in the back of his head… I went into Tottenham the following morning and said, ‘There’s a boy at Coventry we should sign tomorrow.’ It was an open goal. A tortoise couldn’t have gone slower. They didn’t chase it.”

Apparently, when Maddison eventually joined Spurs last summer, Pleat made a joke that he was “£40m too late.”

Maddison left Coventry for Norwich in a reported £2.5m deal in 2016. He later joined Leicester City for around £20m in 2018.

A word on Pleat’s methods

Pleat had some wise words to sum up his approach to scouting new talent through the football leagues, and suggested there is more to be learned from actually seeing players in the flesh rather than being driven by data.

He said: “The data people, they’re intelligent boys from university who’ve done wonderful dissertations. (But) they haven’t been in a dressing room and smelled the liniment. They don’t know that side of it.

“They’re more intelligent than most football people, and they’re very good at expressing themselves. They’re looking at lung-bursting runs, at intensity, at all sorts of things. But in the end, someone has to go with their eyes and ears.”

The Tottenham Hotspur first-team is looking particularly strong at the moment, but the youth squad is also thriving. So, which players will make it all the way and become regulars in the senior squad in the future?

Ange Postecoglou has already given youth a chance, to a degree, and with the likes of Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall being signed and sent straight to the first-team, it’s clear that the Spurs boss believes age is just a number when it comes to finding quality players.

But, aside from Harry Kane and Oliver Skipp, it has been a while since Tottenham developed a youngster from their youth team to become a first-team regular. So, who’s next? Here are five players who should end up having a strong career with the Lilywhites.

Mikey Moore

This is a bit of a no-brainer, really. Mikey Moore already got a taste of first-team football at the end of last season, and he flourished in pre-season. So much so, that Postecoglou decided against arranging a loan away and opted to keep the 17-year-old close to the senior squad this season.

Moore is the most exciting young talent Spurs have, and if he’s given ample opportunity to show what he can do this term, it may not take long at all for him to establish himself as a regular first-team player. If his trajectory doesn’t lead to him becoming a superstar, we have done something wrong.

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Jamie Donley

It’s almost a shame we haven’t seen more of Jamie Donley already, but it’s important to remember he is still just 19-years-old. The versatile playmaker (or left-back, sometimes) has all the raw ability needed to go right to the very top, and he will almost certainly do it with Spurs.

He’s currently getting plenty of first-team experience at Leyton Orient, and while the team itself may be struggling, this will be a valuable year for Donley. He will be playing regularly for Spurs in the next two or three years, guaranteed.

Will Lankshear

The similarities between Will Lankshear and Harry Kane are uncanny. Lankshear is strong, smart, and is one hell of a finisher, and he’s got all the attributes needed to become a top Premier League striker eventually.

It will be interesting to see how much he is used this season by Postecoglou, but the 19-year-old is a natural goalscorer, and you simply cannot ignore that for long. He’s already Tottenham’s third-choice striker, and he is only going to get better.

Ashley Phillips

Tottenham bagged one of the most promising defenders in England when they signed Ashley Phillips last summer. The towering teenager has already shown what he can do at Championship level with Blackburn, Plymouth, and now Stoke, and I have a feeling this will be the last time he needs to go out on loan.

Postecoglou has already revealed his thinking behind not signing another centre-back this summer, mentioning Phillips specifically as someone who he wants to clear a path for. The 19-year-old will be Tottenham’s fourth-choice centre-half next season.

Luca Gunter

Being a goalkeeper is tough. You get bombarded with shots, and when you save them people say you’re just doing your job, but if you let in one goal you get all the blame. Then, there’s the fact that you’re either a number one, or a backup, and the latter will rarely get first-team football as part of a rotation.

I’m not about to say that Luca Gunter can become Tottenham’s number-one goalkeeper in the future, but it makes perfect sense that the youngster can be the next backup option in the first-team.

Fraser Forster will be done at the end of this year, and neither Brandon Austin nor Alfie Whiteman are Premier League quality. Gunter, however, is showing great promise, and should be given a chance to mix it with the senior squad next season.

The international break can cause chaos for scheduling and player fitness, with Premier League clubs sweating on the condition of their star players this week. Unfortunately for Arsenal, one of their latest signings may now be ruled out of the upcoming North London derby due to injury.

Riccardo Calafiori a doubt for NLD

Arsenal splashed the cash this summer to snap up Italian defender Riccardo Calafiori from Bologna in a reported £42m deal (Sky Sports).

The 24-year-old has featured in the last two games for the Gunners, albeit as a second-half substitute, and has largely filled in at left-back rather than in his preferred centre-back role.

Calafiori continued his blossoming international career with Italy on Friday night, starting the 3-1 win over France. But, he only made it through 70 minutes of the game before being replaced after picking up a rather bizarre injury.

France’s Ousmane Dembele was running through the Italy defence, took a tumble, and caught Calafiori on the calf, leaving him in some discomfort.

Now, Fabrizio Romano has commented on the situation, and revealed Calafiori will not take part in any further international action for Italy this week.

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He tweeted: “Riccardo Calafiori leaves Italy camp as the staff will take no risk after his injury against France. Calafiori will return to London and he will be assessed by Arsenal medical staff.”

However, he later added a more positive update, stating: “Sources insist Riccardo Calafiori injury is not serious and it’s just a knock, nothing worrying. Arsenal also didn’t want Calafiori to take any risk and he will be assessed next week.”

No mention of injury on social media

Calafiori took to social media after the game to celebrate his country’s win, and made no reference to his condition, suggesting it might not be that serious after all.

Italy manager Luciano Spaletti had previously told the press (via Football.London) that he hoped Calafiori might be fit for the next game against Isreal on Monday night.

It now remains to be seen whether he will be passed fit to face Tottenham on Sunday in the first North London derby of the new Premier League campaign.

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I think Calafiori will be cutting it fine to make it for the North London derby at this rate. He’s got a week to recover, of course, but that includes testing, getting back into training, and being match-ready. He will probably be on the bench again.