For a long while he was incredibly unlucky with injuries, during part of his time in the Spurs Academy set-up, prior to signing scholarship forms with the club in 2018. However, midfielder Rafferty Pedder showed great resilience after spending so long on the sidelines. He featured more times than any of his teammates for the Spurs Under 18 side in 2019/20, having made his competitive debut for Spurs at that level during the previous season. He would also feature on a good number of occasions for the then Spurs Under 23 side, over the next two seasons, before leaving the club to join West London club QPR, last January, on a permanent transfer. Having been at Spurs for so long, similar to Dilan Markanday, it would have been a very difficult decision for the Maidstone born footballer to leave the club. Rafferty is a versatile midfield player, who can play in central midfield, as a CAM or out wide on the flanks. A player who plays the game with a real desire to make the difference in matches, the 20 year old is a tremendous athlete, whose skill, determination and positivity on the ball, makes him a real joy to watch.

Rafferty is very good at linking the play, taking up good goalscoring positions, and at scoring and creating goals. He has in my opinion and from the games that I have seen him play for QPR’s B team, in the past year, really flourished. Doing well in matches that he played for the QPR B team in during the second half of last season. The former Spurs man scored two competitive goals for the B team last season, with both of them coming in a dramatic 3-2 win over Wigan Athletic, late on in that season. However, he has contributed far more than just his goals during his time at QPR so far, and the player who made his first team debut for them last pre-season in a friendly with Uxbridge, has already scored four goals for the QPR B team this season. And as I said, from the games that I have seen Rafferty involved in this season, it is his all-round play and ability to be decisive and always look to make that forward pass or take players on, which has made him really standout this season.

Rafferty also has an excellent low centre of gravity and a real amount of pace, and he never stops running. This season I have seen him have excellent games against the likes of Cardiff City, Brighton & Hove Albion and Colchester United’s Under 21 sides. That 2018/19 Spurs Academy intake were such a tremendously talented group of players, and Rafferty is just as good and has just as much potential as anyone in that group has, in my opinion. And I wouldn’t at all be surprised to see him get a loan move at some point in 2023, or even feature for the QPR first team, as he has really impressed for the B team this season. On Friday night I will hopefully be watching Rafferty play for the QPR B team, as they take on AFC Bournemouth in an Under 21 Premier League Cup game.