The 2022/23 season may just have finished, but with the Spurs first team’s first friendly of next pre-season taking place on the 18th of July against West Ham United in Perth, Australia, I thought that I’d write this article earlier than I usually would. The two other pre-season friendly matches that have been scheduled so far, are against Leicester City in Bangkok, Thailand, on the 23rd of July, and on the 26th of July they face Italian side AS Roma in Singapore. Pre-season often means that Spurs’ Academy players/graduates get the opportunity to play for the first team and make an impression, and hopefully that will be the case this summer, as well. In the following piece, the players that I have written about/selected that I personally would like to see feature for the Spurs first team in pre-season, are just my personal opinions. However, there are so many other players that I could also have written about/included in this piece, and as always it is very difficult just to write about just five players. I wish all of the Spurs Academy players the very best of luck for 2023/24. 

Brooklyn Lyons-Foster: Having featured in this annual series of articles for the last couple of years, as many of you will know, I’ve always thought very highly of Brooklyn Lyons-Foster as a player. The Islington born defender is a very versatile player, who is capable of playing in central defence, full-back (on either flank) and in midfield. He is a superb reader of the game, who despite being very unlucky with injuries over the last couple of seasons, he has returned even stronger and in my opinion better than before, from these injuries. Since returning to play for the Spurs Under 21 side at central-defence during the following season, from a defensive-midfield position, Brooklyn was in my opinion the Spurs Under 21’s best player last season. The quality and leadership that the 22 year old showed for that side was very good, and Spurs really missed him at such an important stage of the season, after he was ruled out for several weeks through injury. Very comfortable on the ball and able to bring it out well from defence and also distribute it well, Lyons-Foster’s excellent positioning and all-round defending has impressed me greatly for a long time.

Formerly of Watford’s Academy set-up, Brooklyn has already featured for the Spurs first team in pre-season of 2021, but in my opinion he really deserves an opportunity to show his quality for the Spurs first team in the pre-season of 2023.

Maxwell McKnight: Although Maxwell McKnight hasn’t made many appearances for the Spurs Under 21 side so far, the first year professional (from 2023/24) is a player who can play in a number of positions. The 18 year old from Colchester was formerly with West Ham United prior to joining Spurs, and in his two seasons as a scholar with the club I thought that he was one of the Spurs Under 18’s best and most impressive players. He is capable of playing at right-back, as a winger and at left-back, and he has often demonstrated his ability to get forward with the ball, and to create chances from wide positions. In 2021/22 Maxwell McKnight provided an impressive number of assists, as well as defending well when he needed to. He has a great ability to cross the ball, and the accuracy of his crosses is impressive. However, Maxwell’s work off the ball is in my opinion equally as impressive. He works really well off the ball, and his movement and pace are very good. A regular for the Spurs Under 18 side in 2022/23, he was a member of the Spurs Under 18 side that won the Under 18 Premier League Cup, during the same season.

Maxwell McKnight is a player with a really good balance to his game, and his ability to cover a number of positions could possibly mean that he features for the Spurs first team during pre-season of this year. On his only competitive appearance for the Spurs Under 21 side, at right-back in a Papa Johns Trophy game (against Peterborough United’s first team, last year) Maxwell was in my opinion Spurs’ best player in that game.

George Abbott: In the 2023/24 season Spurs Under 18’s regular and defensive-midfielder George Abbott will be a first year professional with Spurs. The Londoner, who is 17 (he turns 18 in August), will be known to most Spurs fans, after he made his competitive first team debut for Spurs as a late substitute against Leeds United, on Sunday in the Premier League. George made a really fine late challenge in the Spurs penalty area shortly after being introduced to the game. He is a tenacious midfield player with excellent off the ball work, but he is also good on the ball, and he has good pace and skill, which allows him to bring it forward well from midfield. George can also play at right-back and left-back, and he did well there during the season just gone, often playing in those positions for the Spurs Under 21 side, who he made a good number of appearances for, at that level. The Islington born Spurs player has made really good strides over the last year, and his first team debut last Sunday, was really well deserved. He is strong in the challenge, and his ability to play in a good number of positions will stand him in really good stead for the future.

Harvey White: The talented and creative central midfielder often plays in a deep lying central midfield position. However, the former CAM still has a real creative side to his game. From Maidstone in Kent, Harvey White has already featured for the Spurs team, in friendly matches and in competitive games. He trained regularly with the Spurs first team during the first half of last season, making his Premier League debut in a game with Crystal Palace, before joining League One side Derby County on a loan move for the second half of the season. Harvey is very capable of setting the tempo of games, and he is often the focal point of creativity in the middle of the pitch, for Spurs at Academy level. He has a great left foot and he is also a real set-piece specialist, with great vision. However, he is also a real leader, who doesn’t shy away from showing his leadership qualities on the pitch. Next pre-season will hopefully allow the 21 year old to get a good amount of game time, to demonstrate his quality for the first team.

Troy Parrott: The Republic of Ireland international and Spurs Academy graduate will be hoping to get a good opportunity to impress the Spurs coaching staff in pre-season of 2023. The Dubliner and centre-forward was on loan at Preston North End, in the Championship last season. He may not have scored as many goals as he would have hoped, but pre-season will hopefully provide the very talented 21 year old an opportunity to get a good run of games for the Spurs first team. Always looking to make clever runs off the ball, the centre-forward showed so often for Spurs at Academy level that he is such a clinical finisher. His ability to score a real variety of goal and get past players for pace and skill, made Troy one of the best Academy forwards in England. Playing with better players around him, with a different style of play would in my opinion really benefit the centre-forward, and also allow him to flourish.

Goalkeeper Aaron Maguire has been in the Spurs Academy set-up for a number of years. Born in Whipps Cross and brought up in Chingford, Maguire has represented England up until Under 17 level, and the Republic of Ireland up until Under 19 level, at international level. A good communicator from his penalty area, Aaron would make five league appearances for the Spurs Under 18 side in 2020/21, as a first year scholar, before missing quite a bit of the start of the following season through injury. However, the goalkeeper still made some good progress during that season at Under 18 level for Spurs, and he would also start for a Spurs Under 17 side in the final of that season’s Under 17 Premier League Cup final, against Manchester City. Manchester City convincingly beat Spurs in that final, but Maguire was one of Spurs’ best players. In the same season Aaron had fine games against the likes of Fulham, Birmingham City and Arsenal, in the Under 18 Premier League South.

Aaron Maguire started the season just gone (2022/23) by competing with summer signing Josh Keeley and Adam Hayton (now of Barnsley) for a starting place in the Spurs Under 21 side. He would make four Premier League 2 appearances for the Spurs Under 21 side, and it was on his competitive debut at that level, in a league game against Manchester City, that he had his very best game at that level, so far. Making a series of very good saves in that game at Manchester City’s Academy Stadium, Maguire had an excellent game, making some really good decisions against a top Manchester City side. The game finished 0-0, with Aaron keeping a clean-sheet, and he would start the next three league games for Spurs’ Under 21 side after that. He wouldn’t play again in a competitive match for the Spurs Under 21 side after September, but he would make one appearance for the Spurs Under 19 side in a UEFA Youth League with Sporting Lisbon at Hotspur Way, before then keeping a clean-sheet in an Under 18 Premier League South game with Norwich City, in April.

A very alert goalkeeper who is good at rushing out of his goal, Aaron Maguire is good at closing down the angles, and as a goalkeeper he has great reflexes. He has demonstrated that he has good distribution, and the tall goalkeeper is a reliable goalkeeper, whose handling of the ball is also good. Next season in 2023/24, Aaron Maguire will be competing with Josh Keeley and Luca Gunter for a starting place in the Spurs Under 21 side, and he will be hoping to make even more appearances for that side, than he did in the previous 2022/23 season.

17 year old Spurs Academy goalkeeper Luca Gunter is a tall, very commanding, vocal goalkeeper, who has great reflexes and organisation skills. Previously with West London club QPR, Luca joined the Spurs Academy set-up a number of years ago now. And the Enfield born second year scholar has represented England at youth level for a number of years, and is a current England Under 18 international. Luca made his competitive Under 18’s debut for Spurs in the autumn of the 2021/22 season, and he had some really fine games in goal, before missing quite a lot of the second half of last season, because of injury. This season, and after making his first appearance for the Spurs Under 21 side in a pre-season friendly with Enfield Town, Luca has started all 16 competitive games that the Spurs Under 18 side have played so far this season, and he has been the captain of the side. Luca also made three appearances for the Spurs Under 19 side earlier on this season, a competition which he did well in. 

Luca Gunter is a commanding goalkeeper, and in the good number of games that I have seen him play for Spurs at Academy level, I have been impressed with his all-round goalkeeping. He is great at making reflex saves, organising his defence, and leading by example from inside his penalty area. He had a terrific game against Wolverhampton Wanderers last season in the fifth round of the FA Youth Cup, making a great number of impressive saves, in a 3-0 loss for Spurs. He was without doubt Spurs’ best player in that game. He reads the game well, and is very good at rushing off his line to close down the angles to make that all important save. Also, Luca had an outstanding game in an Under 18 Premier League Cup fixture on his competitive debut for the Spurs Under 18 side last season, against Stoke City. A game in which he kept a clean-sheet in. So far this season he has kept five clean-sheets (four for the Spurs Under 18 side and one for the Spurs Under 19 side).

One of Luca’s finest games of this season came against his old club QPR in the third round of the FA Youth Cup. Unfortunately Spurs lost that game, but Luca had a very good match. He also really impressed against Marseille in the UEFA Youth League, keeping a clean-sheet in that game as well as making a number of important saves. As recent as the Spurs Under 18’s last competitive game (against Chelsea), Luca made a hugely important and excellent late save to stop a fine effort from winning the game for Chelsea. I’m looking forward to seeing how he progresses over the next couple of seasons. And I wish Luca all the very best of luck for the remainder of 2022/23.

It was announced by Spurs on Friday, who the new Academy first year scholars will be at the club, for the 2022/23 season. Six of Spurs’ new first year scholars have already played for the Spurs Under 18 side, while an additional three players featured on the bench for the Spurs Under 18 side last season. I saw six of the 14 Spurs Academy first year scholars play for Spurs’ Under 18 side last season. And although I didn’t see some of the new first year scholars last season, I will write a brief bit on each player, while writing more extensively on the players who I did see play for the Spurs Under 18 side last season. The goalkeepers in this seasons’ new group of Spurs Under 18 players, are Elliot Krasniqi and Carey Bloedorn. Elliot Krasniqi made the bench for the Spurs Under 18 side on 12 occasions last season, without featuring for the side, while Carey Bloedorn made the bench for the Spurs Under 18 side on one occasion last season.

There will be six new defenders joining the Spurs Under 18 side next season, as first year scholars. Pele Arganese-McDermott, I believe had previously represented Luton Town, before joining Spurs, and he is a central defender. New first year scholar Archie Chaplin, is also a central defender. He made 12 Premier League South appearances for the Spurs Under 18 side last season, before joining the club full-time this summer. I was very impressed with how Archie Chaplin did for the Spurs Under 18 side last season, and he stepped up to that level really well. I thought that he was on occasions the best player in matches last season, such was his excellent reading of the game, positioning and the quality and decisiveness of his challenges. Chaplin is a defender who also has really good pace, and I personally wouldn’t be at all surprised to see him feature for England at youth level next season. Other defenders in the group, are Maeson King, Zach Simons and James Roswell. James Roswell has represented England at youth level in the past, and he made the bench for the Spurs Under 18 side in their home Premier League South fixture with Aston Villa, in the March of 2022.

In midfield, there are four players who are joining the Spurs Academy full-time. Leo Black is a midfield player who made three competitive appearances for the Spurs Under 18 side last season (all as a substitute). I believe that the first year scholar can play in the CAM position, as well as in central midfield. In the games that he was involved in for the Spurs Under 18 side last season, he showed some fine skill on the ball. Tyrese Hall is a versatile goalscoring midfield player, who can also play as a winger. Hall can also play as a defensive-midfielder and as a CAM, and he was another first year scholar who I thought did well for the Spurs Under 18 side last season. Tyrese looks like a very skilful player, and I also noticed that he seems to be  good with both feet. He made five competitive appearances for the Spurs Under 18 side last season, including one in the FA Youth Cup, and he provided one assist from those matches. He was excellent in a 2-1 Premier League South win away to Reading last season, while playing in central midfield. His skilful surging forward runs with the ball, as well as his good decision making on the ball impressed me a lot in that game against Reading. Hall scored a goal in Spurs’ Under 18’s 4-0 pre-season friendly win over Leyton Orient, earlier this month.

Kieran Morgan and Han Willhoft-King are also midfielders who are part of the new group of Spurs Under 18’s. I haven’t seen Kieran Morgan play for Spurs, yet, but I have seen quite a lot of Han Willhoft-King for the Spurs Under 18 side. The England youth international started all three of Spurs’ FA Youth Cup games last season, and he also started for a Spurs Under 17 side in the 2022 Premier League Under 17 Cup final, against Manchester City, last season. Willhoft-King made 13 competitive appearances for the Spurs Under 18 side in all competitions, last season. Often starting matches in the defensive-midfield role, Han reminds me a bit of two Spurs Academy graduates, in Oliver Skipp and Armando Shashoua. He is always looking to receive the ball, and he uses it very well, and he is so composed on the ball. Willhoft-King is good defensively, but he is also a very creative player, whose passing is good, as is his skill on the ball and ability to skilfully get past players. He had some really good games for the Spurs Under 18 side during 2021/22.

There will be four forwards who will be joining the Spurs Under 18 side this season, as first year scholars. Damola Ajayi made two Premier League South appearances for the Spurs Under 18 side last season, both as a substitute. Although he is a forward, Damola Ajayi can also play in midfield. He scored two goals in the Spurs Under 18’s recent 4-0 pre-season friendly win over Leyton Orient, earlier this month. The other forwards, who are part of the new group of first year scholars, are Yusuf Akhamrich, who scored a goal in the friendly win over Leyton Orient, and also Oliver Irow. Oliver Irow has also represented England at youth level, and although he only made one competitive appearance for the Spurs Under 18 side last season (as a substitute in a Premier League South fixture against Leicester City), the forward impressed with his movement off the ball in that game. He also almost scored a goal from a header in that match. Oliver Irow can play as a centre-forward or as a winger. I would like to wish the Spurs Academy first year scholars of the 2022/23 season, all the very best of luck for this season. 

Thomas Bloxham is currently a first year scholar with Spurs. The winger from Welwyn Garden City in Hertfordshire, has been at Spurs for a long time. He made his competitive debut for the Spurs Under 18 side as a late substitute in their opening Premier League South fixture of this season (2021/22), against Fulham. Bloxham made 26 competitive appearances for the Spurs Under 18 side during the Academy season of 2021/22. Thomas didn’t always start matches during the season just gone, but he came off the bench as a substitute to make a good impression on matches. He actually started his first Premier League South match of the season for the Spurs Under 18 side, as a centre-forward in a home match against Leicester City, in the December of 2021. He scored five goals and provided one assist for Stuart Lewis’ side this season, but it was his performance against a good West Brom side in the fourth round of the FA Youth Cup, when he scored two goals and was involved in other goals, in a 6-1 win, which was arguably his best performance of the season for Spurs.

Thomas Bloxham is such a skilful player who has a good low centre of gravity. With his clever twists and turns with the ball, he can be very difficult to defend against. I have also noticed that Thomas likes to try the Marseille turn with the ball in matches, and I have noticed that on occasions this season. A very clever player with the ball, the winger who has started matches on either flank this season, has an eye for goal. And the player with great balance often likes to go inside from the flank, with the ball to then find the goal (an example of this was in a recent league fixture against Norwich City, when he scored a goal). However, although Bloxham is a direct winger with the ball, he is also unpredictable, and really difficult to defend against. A really good striker of a football, Bloxham likes to try his luck from distance with the ball. His movement off the ball is very good (he works very hard off the ball as well) and he gets into some good positions in and around the penalty area.

During the last international break Thomas was called-up to represent the talented Republic of Ireland Under 17 side. This would have likely been a very proud and memorable moment for the 17 year old, and it shows just how highly rated he must be by the Football Association of Ireland. In some ways Thomas Bloxham reminds me a bit of Samuel Shashoua, when he was a first year scholar. Similar players who are both versatile, very skilful and who use the ball really well. Samuel of course would go onto become one of the finest players in the Premier League South during his second season of scholarship (2016/17). Unfortunately Thomas picked up an injury in the first half of Spurs’ Under 18’s last Premier League South fixture of the season, against Arsenal last Saturday, and he had to be substituted in the first half. I wish Thomas a good recovery and I look forward to seeing him again for Spurs next season, if not at the end of season Terborg Tournament.

In my latest article on the Spurs first year scholars of the 2021/22 season, I have written a piece on centre-forward Jaden Williams. The second top scorer for Spurs during the 2021/22 season at Under 18’s level, the player who was born at Northwick Park Hospital, but brought up in Edgware, has been at Spurs for a long time. Williams made 28 competitive appearances for Spurs’ Under 18 side during the 2021/22 season, plus an additional five appearances for Wayne Burnett’s Spurs Under 23 side, in the Premier League 2. The versatile forward made his debut for the Spurs Under 18 side in a competitive fixture, in the first Premier League South fixture of the season, against Fulham (he scored in that game). Impressing not only with the goals that he has scored this season, but also in his all-round play, Jaden has shown that he can lead the line really well, but he is also capable of starting matches in different positions, such as out wide, as a winger.

Jaden Williams was in good goalscoring form during the early parts of the season, and would score in three consecutive Premier League South matches in the autumn of 2021. However, the player who scored 13 competitive goals for Stuart Lewis’ side during the season just gone, very impressively scored five goals against Birmingham City, in a Premier League South game at Hotspur Way, earlier this year, and he was unsurprisingly outstanding during that game. He has also shown the creative side to his game during the season just gone, and he provided eight assists during the 2021/22 season, for the Spurs Under 18 side. Williams has done really well this season, and he has linked up really well with the top scorer for the Spurs Under 18 side this season, Jamie Donley. Both players have a really good understanding with each other, and although when starting matches as a CAM, Jamie Donley often is the player who drops deep to make forward passes to Williams, both of their link up play is really good.

A very quick player, Jaden is a very good finisher inside the penalty area (he can strike a football well), and his movement off the ball and positioning inside the penalty area is also very good. In addition to being fast and having a good turn of pace, the first year scholar is a really skilful player, who likes to take defenders on with the ball. A good example of this was in Spurs’ Under 18’s 5-3 away win against West Ham United, earlier this year, when he showed great close ball control inside the West Ham box, before finishing well, following an excellent bit of skill to get past a West Ham defender. Even when leading the line, Williams likes to drift out wide to receive the ball on occasions, and he is also capable of making really good runs in behind the defence. The game which really stands out when you look through all of the matches that Jaden has been involved in this season, is the game against Birmingham City, when the forward scored five goals and provided two assists in a 7-0 win to Spurs.

In the game against Birmingham, Jaden Williams was absolutely outstanding. He made some excellent runs in behind the Birmingham defence, showed great skill on the ball, balance and also what a clinical finisher he is. Jaden has certainly impressed during his first year of scholarship at the club, and the season might not be over yet for Jaden, as it will be interesting to see if he is a part of the Spurs Under 19 side side that will participate in the Terborg Tournament, at the end of this month. However, the forward should be proud of all that he has achieved this season.

Midfielder Billy Heaps has been really impressive for Spurs’ Under 18 side during the second half of the 2021/22 season. From Stevenage in Hertfordshire, Billy joined Spurs from League Two side Stevenage around three years ago, and has since worked his way up the various youth ranks at Spurs, before joining the club full-time in the summer of 2021. The first year scholar (16) who made his competitive debut for the Spurs Under 18 side in an Under 18 Premier League Cup group-stage game against Leeds United last year, has also been called-up to represent England, at youth level in the past. Heaps had to wait until the November of 2021, to make his Premier League South debut, as a late substitute in a home game against Southampton. He has subsequently featured in every Spurs Under 18 league match apart from one, since making his league debut against Southampton, last year. A skilful midfield player, Billy Heaps has scored two goals and provided three assists from 17 appearances for Stuart Lewis’ side, so far this season.

Billy is a central-midfielder, who can also play as a defensive-midfielder, although he has also started matches out wide, on either flank so far this season. Heaps is a tenacious midfield player, has good pace, and is a really hard worker, who covers a lot of ground in midfield. Regardless of whether he has started matches out on the flanks or in central midfield, the first year scholar has shown his really good passing ability. He has great vision for a pass, is a creative player and one who is good with his long and short distance passing. Tidy in possession of the ball and clever in how he uses the ball, Billy Heaps is an efficient player, and one who has started to remind me quite a lot of Jamie Bowden, when he used to play for the Spurs Under 18 side. Both are very hardworking midfield players who also get forward well on the pitch, but they also have a good eye for goal, and are very good strikers of a football. 

Billy Heaps has made some terrific lofted passes in recent matches, and in Spurs’ second last Premier League South match of the season, yesterday against Brighton, the player who started the match out on the left flank, made two brilliant lofted forward passes to centre-forward Jamie Donley. From one of those passes, Donley scored a goal, but Heaps has made some similar passes, including one in the previous game against Norwich City (away), last Saturday. However, in that game against Brighton, Billy also scored a well taken goal from the left side of the Brighton penalty area. In another game, this time in a home Premier League South fixture against Norwich City, while starting in central midfield, Billy was quietly very effective in how he broke up play, used the ball and also in how composed he was in his overall play. Billy Heaps will be hoping to start the final Premier League South fixture of the 2021/22 season, against Arsenal on Saturday. 

Nile John made his return to the Spurs Under 23 side earlier in the week, in their Premier League 2 fixture with Derby County. The west London born professional footballer who is still on loan with League One side Charlton Athletic (he has yet to make an appearance for them this season), has made good strides this season with the Spurs Under 23 side. John is a versatile midfield player, who can play as a defensive-midfielder, a central-midfielder in a more forward role, a CAM or out wide as a winger. The England Under 19 international who has often been a regular for England at youth level, made his competitive debut for the Spurs Under 18 side in a 5-3 Premier League South win over West Ham United (he provided an assist in that game), during the 2018/19 season. John signed scholarship forms with Spurs during the summer of 2019, but during his first year of scholarship he missed quite a lot of football because of injury. John was however, in fine form for the Spurs Under 18 side towards the end of the 2019/20. Putting in really good performances against the likes of Swansea City and also Southampton, in the final game of that season.

The midfielder was a regular starter and an important player for the Spurs Under 18 side during the first half of the following 2020/21 season, as they started the season well. John made his competitive debut for the Spurs Under 23 side in a 5-1 Premier League 2 win in the January of 2021, and since that match he would spend the second half of the 2020/21 season with the Spurs Under 23 side. During that same season, Nile John made his competitive first team debut for Spurs as a substitute in a UEFA Europa League match against Wolfsberger AC. After spending much of the 2021/22 pre-season with the Spurs first team, Nile started Spurs’ first leg UEFA Europa Conference League play-off match against Paços Ferreira. He subsequently started the season with Wayne Burnett’s Spurs Under 23 side, and he has done really well for them, adding a good number of goals to his game. The first year professional has scored seven goals and provided four assists from 17 appearances for Wayne Burnett’s side, so far this season.

 Nile hasn’t made an appearance for Charlton Athletic’s first team (they only have one remaining fixture this season), apart from making some appearances for their Under 23 side. A midfield player who has almost always started matches as a CAM for Spurs’ Under 23 side this season, Nile John is a midfield player with outstanding ability on the ball. He is more than capable of gliding past players with the ball, with great skill. In addition he has good pace, and likes to go on skilful surging forward runs with the ball from midfield. John’s short passing is very good, and he is a player who can ride challenges well. This season in particular the 19 year old midfielder has shown that he is a clinical goalscorer, especially when receiving the ball on the edge of the penalty area. He has scored some really good goals this season, including two wonderful goals from distance in games against Leeds United and Manchester City. He is able to strike a ball really well, but it is his ability to be very unpredictable with the ball and also his ability to be very capable of producing incredible pieces of skill, to get past players, which is what in my opinion makes him such a promising player.

Nile has really impressed when starting matches as a CAM for Spurs’ Under 23 side this season, and his stats have also been impressive for goals and assists. An incredibly skilful and talented player, it will be interesting to see whether Nile John goes out on loan again next season.