On Thursday it was announced that Spurs’ promising central defender Malachi Fagan-Walcott (18) had joined Scottish Championship (second division) side Dundee FC on loan until the end of the 2020/21 season. Fagan-Walcott had in fact missed the majority of the season so far with an injury which he picked up last June, but the England youth international did return to play for our under 23 side on two occasions recently (he started one of those games). Edmonton born but brought up in Waltham Abbey, the tall central defender who is good on the ball and at passing, as well as at anticipating situations, divided his time playing for the under 18’s, 23’s and under 19 side last season, after returning to action slightly later than most of the other players, because of an injury that he picked up towards the end of the previous 2019/20 season. A quick defender who made his competitive senior debut for Spurs’ first team as a substitute in a UEFA Champions League round of 16 game against RB Leipzig last March, Malachi has been a very consistent performer at Academy level for the club, since joining them full-time in the summer of 2018. The former Norsemen F.C. player primarily plays as a right sided centre-half, although he can also play at right-back, which is where he played against West Ham United under 23’s last week, in his last full competitive 90 minutes of football since last March. Dominant in the air, good and skilful with the ball at his feet, and excellent at making last ditch blocks and challenges, Fagan-Walcott is also a good communicator on the pitch, and he has consistently demonstrated good leadership qualities over the last couple of seasons.

Dundee FC are currently playing in the Scottish Championship, and they currently sit in third place in that league, ten points behind league leaders Hearts. A club that will obviously be hoping to win promotion back to the Scottish Premiership, Dundee  as it stands would qualify for the end of season play-offs (quarter-finals). However, still with a good amount of games remaining, the Scottish club could well finish the season higher up the table than they currently are. Dundee seem to play with a back four, and Malachi will likely be competing with centre-halves Jordan McGhee, Lee Ashcroft, Liam Fontaine, Jordon Forster and Sam Fisher for a place in the side at central defence. Although the defender who turns 19 in March, can also play at right-back, and in the current Dundee squad there are two right backs – Christie Elliott and Cammy Kerr. Wherever he plays in that back four, the most important thing is that Malachi Fagan-Walcott will hopefully be getting regular game time for  Dundee, although he might not get starts immediately, as he has not long come back from quite a bad injury. However, the experience of being a part of a first team in a competitive senior football environment will be so invaluable for the Spurs youngster, as he continues to learn and develop in the game. Fagan-Walcott’s new club Dundee are playing Raith Rovers away in the Scottish Championship on Saturday, so it will be interesting to see if the Spurs player goes straight into the match day squad for that game. I look forward to following Malachi’s progress at Dundee, and also hopefully watching some of his games as well. I would like to wish Malachi all the very best of luck on loan at Dundee during the remainder of their season.