Will Andiyapan is a Wales youth international at Under 19 level, and the now first year professional with Spurs is a very versatile defender, who is very capable of playing anywhere in defence. The Watford born player who was previously with the Arsenal Academy set-up prior to joining Spurs, is a player who I personally think will have a good season in 2023/24, a season in which he will step-up to the Spurs Under 21 side in. I first saw Will play for Spurs at Academy level on his competitive debut for the Spurs Under 18 side, in a heavy defeat to Chelsea right at the start of the 2021/22 season. He was Spurs’ best player in that game, a game which he started on the left side of central defence in. I was impressed with his reading of the game, decisiveness and pace in that match, against a very good Chelsea side. Will would make a good number of appearances for the Spurs Under 18 side during the 2021/22 season, in a number of positions in defence for Spurs (he provided two assists during that season). Then in the following 2022/23 season, Will Andiyapan made further good progress for Spurs.

In the 2022/23 season Will would feature for Stuart Lewis’ Spurs Under 18 side in the vast majority of their matches. He would also make his debut for the Spurs Under 21 side, as well as featuring in four of the six UEFA Youth League group-stage fixtures that Spurs played last season. As I have written about before, I’ve always thought that Will is a very good reader of the game who is good at making defensive interventions in games, whether he be starting matches at full-back or in central defence. He is always alert and is a good tackler, but Will is also calm and composed in his defending, as well as being good on the ball. An important player for Wales at youth level, the 18 year old who only recently signed his first professional contract with Spurs had a number of very good games for Spurs at Academy level over the last couple of seasons. Regardless of whether he is playing at left-back or in central defence, Will likes to get forward on occasions to support the midfield. Impressing last season in games against the likes of Marseille (at Under 19 level, in the UEFA Youth League), Peterborough United (in the EFL Trophy) and against Crystal Palace, I personally think that Will has definitely made some really good strides during his two seasons as a scholar with Spurs.

This season at left-back, Will Andiyapan will be competing with Jahziah Linton and Tyrell Ashcroft for a starting place at left-back in the Spurs Under 21 side. However, his ability to play anywhere in defence should mean that he hopefully gets a good amount of game time this season. The player who featured for Spurs’ Under 18 side in their successful Under 18 Premier League Cup final win against Aston Villa last season, is a player who I look forward to seeing this season for the Spurs Development side, and I wish him all the very best for this season.

Former Reading Academy player Tyrell Ashcroft would feature on four occasions for Reading’s first team during his time with them. Tyrell, who was born in Frimley, Surrey, but brought up in Berkshire, joined Spurs’ Academy set-up only last summer from Reading. The 19 year old who has mainly played at full-back since joining Spurs, actually once played in defensive-midfield against Spurs at Under 18 level, in a Premier League South game for Reading (during the 2020/21 season), which finished 4-4. I watched every game that Tyrell played for Spurs at Academy level (not including any behind closed doors games) last season, before he very unfortunately sustained a serious knee injury in a Premier League 2 game against Blackburn Rovers, during the September of last year, which ruled him out for the remainder of the 2022/23 season. The following short piece is just on Tyrell Ashcroft’s style of play, from the games that I watched him play in for Spurs’ Under 21’s and Under 19 side last season. As a full-back, I thought that from the games that I saw Tyrell Ashcroft play for Spurs last season, that he had a good balance to his game.

Tyrell impressed me in three games in particular for Spurs at Academy level last season, from the limited amount of games that he played. For the Spurs Under 19 side while playing at left-back against Marseille in the UEFA Youth League, Tyrell demonstrated impressive reading of the game, as well as having a good all-round game. However, for the Spurs Under 21 side, the then recent Spurs signing had in my opinion a very good game against Wycombe Wanderers in an EFL Trophy group-stage fixture, as he helped Spurs to keep a clean-sheet from the left-back position, although he also got forward well in the game against Wycombe, showing some good pace as he got up and down the left flank. And in the final game, once again at left-back (Tyrell can also play at right-back) in a Premier League 2 fixture away to the PL2 champions Manchester City, I thought that Tyrell had a really good game, up against some really good players on his side of the pitch, regardless of the fact that Manchester City played a lot of that game with ten men, they still saw a lot of the ball. The then first year professional made some really good overlapping runs down the left side of the pitch, had a good chance to score a goal, but he also kept good defensive positioning throughout the game.

It was really unfortunate that Tyrell sustained a serious knee injury so early on in his time with Spurs. However, hopefully he gets to return to playing for the Spurs Under 21 side during the early stages of this season, to slowly work his way back to full match fitness. He is a player who I am looking forward to seeing more of next season for Spurs, and I wish him all the very best for the season ahead. Personally I can see him starting a lot of games at left-back next season for the Spurs Under 21 side.

Spurs’ Under 21 side at this moment in time consists of 26 players. Of course there will likely be some loan moves away from the club during this summer, meaning that  the squad gets smaller, and likely seeing some of the first and second year Spurs Academy scholars get opportunities in the Under 21 side. Spurs’ Under 21 side were relegated from Division One of the Premier League 2 on the final day of last season. However, I have seen quite a lot of talk on social media about there being a change in the format to the Premier League 2 next season, but the Premier League 2 hasn’t confirmed anything yet regarding any changes. So I won’t be writing on the league in this piece, instead I will be more referring to the Spurs Under 21 squad/players to look out for this season. However, Spurs’ Under 21 side will be competing in the EFL Trophy again this season, and they have been drawn in a group with Colchester United, Cambridge United and Peterborough United. It will also be interesting to see whether or not Spurs will enter in to the Premier League International Cup again this season, for the first time since the 2018/19 season, especially as a Spurs Under 19 side will not be in the UEFA Youth League this season. There is also the Under 21 Premier Cup, but I don’t believe that Spurs have ever competed in that competition in the past.

Spurs’ Under 21 had a difficult first half of the 2022/23 season. However, they started to win games during the second half of the season, and in the end they were unlucky not to avoid relegation. Experienced and very versatile player Brooklyn Lyons-Foster was excellent for the Spurs Under 21 side last season whenever he played, but it will be interesting to see whether the central defender goes out on loan this season, or whether he gets an opportunity with the first team. In which case there are a number of central defenders who could get more opportunities with the Spurs Under 21 side. Talents such as Maksim Paskotši, Alfie Dorrington, Charlie Sayers and Tyrell Ashcroft are just some of the players who can play in central defence. George Abbott had a fantastic season during 2022/23 for the Spurs Under 18 and 21’s side, and the player who featured for the first team on the final day of the last Premier League Season will surely be hoping to make even more strides this season. A versatile midfield player who can also play at full-back, George Abbott is a really good player. Maxwell McKnight is another player who is part of the same age group as George Abbott at Spurs, and the right-back is another player who I personally believe has a big future.

Maxwell McKnight can play on both flanks as a full-back and as a winger, and he is very good at getting forward with the ball. Hopefully he’ll get a lot of minutes for Wayne Burnett’s side next season. Midfielder Max Robson recently signed a two year contract with the club, and after being unfortunate with injuries over the last couple of seasons, he did well I thought, when playing in the different position of right-back last season. He is a player who has real quality on the ball, and he can score goals and also create them too. It will be interesting to see which positions he plays in for the team next season. As for the centre-forwards, I personally wouldn’t be surprised to see Dane Scarlett, Troy Parrott and Jude Soonsup-Bell all go out on loan next season. That would mean that Jaden Williams (Jaden can also play as a winger), Jamie Donley (Jamie can also play as a CAM) and Will Lankshear would be competing for minutes in the centre-forward position next season. Will Lankshear did well for the Spurs Under 18 side last season, before sustaining an injury which ruled him out for much of the second half of last season. He is another great prospect. He is strong, very hardworking off the ball, a fine finisher and he also has good pace.

From the Spurs Under 18 side I wouldn’t be surprised to see Mikey Moore and Tyrese Hall get good opportunities with the Spurs Under 21 side next season, along with other players from that very talented group of players. In other news I am delighted to say that I will be returning this season to do my match reports of the Spurs Under 18 side and the Under 21 sides’ matches, because of a change in circumstances, after not reporting on matches for much of the previous 2022/23 season. I really look forward to returning to writing my reports and match previews as well, starting with the Spurs Under 21’s pre-season friendly with Enfield Town later this month. I would like to wish the Spurs Under 21 squad all the very best of luck for the 2023/24 season.

The Spurs Under 21 side of 2023/24:

Goalkeepers: Josh Keeley, Aaron Maguire, Luca Gunter.

Defenders: Alfie Dorrington, Maksim Paskotši, Brooklyn Lyons-Foster, Will Andiyapan, Charlie Sayers, Tyrell Ashcroft, Jahziah Linton, Maxwell McKnight.

Midfielders/wingers: George Abbott, Dante Cassanova, Alfie Devine, Matthew Craig, Nile John, Billy Heaps, Rio Kyerematen, Max Robson, Yago Santiago.

Forwards: Jaden Williams, Jude Soonsup-Bell, Jamie Donley, Will Lankshear, Dane Scarlett, Troy Parrott.

It was announced on Thursday that nine Spurs Academy players had left the club following the end of their contracts/scholarships with Spurs. The Academy players were Kallum Cesay, Jamie Bowden, Malachi Fagan-Walcott, Roshaun Mathurin, Marqes Muir, Romaine Mundle, Thomas Bloxham, Brandon Bryan-Waugh and Riley Owen. In the following piece I will write a bit on each player and their time with the club. I wish them all the very best of luck for the future.

Kallum Cesay: The Sierra Leone international who joined Spurs as an academy player from West Ham United sometime before signing scholarship forms with the club, really showed his versatility during the season just gone, for the Spurs Under 21 side. Kallum usually plays at right-back, but he has also played in central midfield and as a winger for Spurs at Academy level. He signed scholarship forms with the club in the summer of 2019, and would even feature for the Spurs first team a couple of years later during pre-season. Kallum is a skilful player who loves to get forward, and he did get a good number of assists for Spurs at Under 18 and Under 21 level over recent seasons. His off the ball movement and forward runs have always impressed me, and he had some fine games for Spurs at Academy level.

Jamie Bowden: Local lad and central midfielder Jamie Bowden was another player who would feature for the Spurs first team in pre-season friendlies. He had been at Spurs for many years, and his great quality on the ball and passing ability meant that he was selected to represent both England and the Republic of Ireland at youth level in the past. Bowden’s reading of the game has always been very good, and for the Spurs Under 18 side and the Under 21’s, I have seen him control games from midfield. Injuries that he has sustained since being at the club full-time, certainly hasn’t helped him to fulfil his potential as of this moment in time. However, I have some really good memories of watching Jamie play for Spurs at Academy level, and the player who has always been a Spurs supporter, really showed his quality at Academy level, but as I mentioned previously, it’s just such a pity that in recent seasons that he has missed so much football because of injury.

Malachi Fagan-Walcott: Central defender Malachi Fagan-Walcott had an excellent first season of scholarship with Spurs in 2018/19, and his all-round defending was excellent that season, for a very talented Spurs Under 18 side. In the following seasons he would quickly establish himself as a regular in the Spurs Under 21 side, a team that he would spend a number of seasons with. Malachi did make one competitive appearance for the Spurs first team, as a substitute in a UEFA Champions League game with Red Bull Leipzig in 2020, but like with Jamie Bowden, he was at times very unlucky with injuries. These injuries would rule him out for quite a while at a time, and he would also miss the latter stages of last season for the Spurs Under 21 side with injury. A commanding central defender who is great at making defensive interventions and blocks, but who also has good pace, Malachi is also good in the air and on the ball. He had some really good seasons for Spurs at academy level, and would for a number of seasons form a very good central defensive partnership with Luis Binks.

Roshaun Mathurin: The highly skilful winger who made his debut for the Spurs Under 18 side prior to joining the club full-time, showed great promise in his first season of scholarship with Spurs. Roshaun was excellent for Spurs’ Under 18 side in 2020/21 scoring a really good number of goals, would unfortunately sustain a serious injury during the early stages of the following season, which would rule him out until the following pre-season. He did make a good number of competitive appearances for the Spurs Under 21 side in 2022/23, but a lot of those appearances came from the bench. A player with a real eye for goal and whose skill on the ball is class, Roshaun would score a memorable hat-trick against Chelsea’s Under 18 side in 2021.

Marqes Muir: The central defender from Lambeth, who I’ve always thought highly of, was a player who I thought did ever so well as a first year scholar with the club, and who also did well in his following seasons with the club, having some fine games. Marqes Muir is good on the ball and is good at bringing it out from defence, but as well as his ability on the ball, he is a player who is capable of making very good blocks and tackles. He reads the game well and is also good in the air, and he had some really fine and memorable games for Spurs at Under 18 and Under 21 level in central defence, and also at right-back on occasions. He is a player who I personally hoped would stay for another season with Spurs, but I’m sure that he will get a good club in the very near future.

Romaine Mundle: Very skilful winger Romaine Mundle made fantastic strides with Spurs over recent seasons. Romaine used to play some games in central midfield for Spurs’ Under 18 side as a first year scholar, but he has since developed into a really good and promising winger, who is very creative, and who is capable of providing good chances for teammates with his skill on the ball and crossing ability. Romaine is very quick and he really established himself as a very important member of the Spurs Under 21 side and he was their most productive player last season. It’s a pity that Romaine won’t be at Spurs next season, as I can really see him getting better and better in the future.

Thomas Bloxham: A second year scholar during last season, who would spend some time on trial with Blackburn Rovers during that season, the Republic of Ireland youth international had a good first season of scholarship with the Spurs Under 18 side in 2021/22. Thomas is a forward/winger with really good balance and a great low centre of gravity, who is creative and skilful on the ball. He enjoyed his best/most productive time with Spurs as a full-time academy player in early 2022, when he scored a good number of goals for the Spurs Under 18 side.

Brandon Bryan-Waugh: Versatile defender Brandon Bryan-Waugh often plays at right-back, and he is capable of pushing forward with the ball on the right flank. A former England youth international, Bryan-Waugh had in my opinion a good first season as a scholar in 2021/22, and I was particularly impressed with him whenever he played at full-back. He is a good defender who is also good on the ball, and capable of making good challenges. Brandon didn’t feature a lot for the Spurs Under 18 side much as a second year scholar, last season.

Riley Owen: Skilful winger Riley Owen featured quite a lot for the Spurs Under 18 side as a first year scholar, although he didn’t feature as much for them during last season. He is quite similar to Thomas Bloxham in his style of play as a winger, and he is a clever player who reads the game well. Riley scored a memorable brace against Birmingham City’s Under 18 side during the early stages of the 2021/22 season.

Both Troy Parrott and Harvey White have progressed through the Spurs Academy set-up, with both players part of the extremely talented 2018/19 Academy age group at the club. Parrott spent this season on loan with Championship side Preston North End, where he made 34 competitive appearances, scoring four goals for them following his loan move to Lancashire last summer. Harvey White spent the first half of the season with Spurs, mainly playing for their Under 21 side, as well as making one competitive appearance for the Spurs first team, from the bench in a Premier League fixture with Crystal Palace in January. In addition to that first team appearance, Harvey also started two first team mid-season friendly matches, against Motherwell and Nice respectively, in the false nine centre-forward position. He would join League One side Derby County on loan, during early 2023, and he would make 15 competitive appearances for them (Harvey started five of those matches).

Troy Parrott is the most promising centre-forward that I have ever seen play in the Spurs Academy set-up. The former Belvedere player and current Republic of Ireland international, is still very much a player who in my opinion has so much potential. The 21 year old has spent the last three seasons away from Spurs on loan, enjoying a particularly successful loan with then League One side MK Dons in 2021/22, when he often wasn’t playing as the main centre-forward. Parrott is in my opinion faster than most players, has good skill on the ball and most importantly of all he gets into excellent positions from which he can score goals from, such is his excellent off the ball movement and anticipation of situations on the pitch. Of course as a centre-forward, despite the fact that he wasn’t always playing as a centre-forward, he’ll not be satisfied with his stats for goals scored for Preston last season. However, the Republic of Ireland international who has already won 18 international caps for his country, would in my opinion in a better team with top players, excel, and get a lot of goals.

At Academy level Troy quickly became too good for the Spurs Under 18 side and in time the Spurs Under 21 side. He also quickly became physically ready to play senior football, but it was his determination to get into goalscoring positions, link-up play and desire to drop deep as well as his clinical ability in front of goal, which made him one of the top academy prospects in the country. He started and scored for a Spurs Under 21 side, in their friendly match with Syracuse University on Friday. I really hope that he gets some really good minutes for the Spurs first team in pre-season, to show much that he can contribute in a top side, which I fully believe he can do. Central midfielder Harvey White also got minutes in the friendly match with Syracuse University, following his return from his loan move at Derby County. Harvey is as many Spurs fans now know, a great set-piece taker, who has a wonderful left foot. However, the 21 year old is a midfielder who has a real tenacity to his game, and at Academy level I have seen him run games with real ease from midfield.

Harvey White has played for Spurs quite a bit in pre-season before, but I personally think that he has improved quite a lot from watching him in recent seasons. I’m sure that he would have liked to have started more games for Derby, but in the Spurs Under 21 side last season it became quite evident as one of the more senior players in the side, that he was developing into a fine leader, and someone who could encourage and motivate his teammates in difficult situations on the pitch. He likes to get forward and score goals, as well as working hard for the team and doing a lot of defensive work. However, he is as I wrote earlier, someone who really can make the difference in matches. He is a very intelligent midfield player with a great understanding of the game, at still an early stage of his footballing career. I really hope that both Troy and Harvey get some really good minutes for the Spurs first team in pre-season, and from there can really flourish during 2023/24. 

Goalkeeper Alfie Whiteman is a local lad to Spurs, in Tottenham, and he has always been a Spurs fan. The 24 year old Academy graduate recently signed a new contract with the club until 2025, and the player who made his debut as a late substitute in a UEFA Europa League group-stage fixture against Ludogorets Razgrad in 2020, also impressed for the Spurs first team in matches during the following pre-season. A talented and commanding goalkeeper with great reflexes and a good amount of success at saving penalty kicks, Alfie Whiteman has been at Spurs for a long time, along with goalkeeper Brandon Austin, who was also part of the same very talented 2015/16 Academy age group. Impressing and featuring a lot for the Spurs Under 18 side during his two years of scholarship with Spurs, Alfie would later step-up permanently to the then Spurs Under 23 side, from 2017 onwards.

A vocal goalkeeper with good organisation skills, I remember well Alfie Whiteman’s time in the Spurs Academy, from the scholarship days onwards. He was consistent for both the Spurs Under 18 and Under 23 side, and the former England youth international who was capped by England up until Under 19 level, would put in some big performances for the two main Spurs Academy sides. I can remember him  putting in a brilliant performance at Old Trafford for the old Spurs Under 23 side in a Premier League 2 fixture with Manchester United in 2018, as well as some other really good ones against Arsenal and Leicester City respectively. And in the same season (Alfie and Brandon were the two main goalkeepers for the Spurs Under 23 side that season) Alfie got a really good amount of game time for Spurs. He would later often train with the first team in previous seasons, as well as playing some matches for the Spurs Development side, on occasions.

Very good at saving efforts from distance owing to his impressive positioning, the Spurs goalkeeper also claims corner-kicks and set-pieces well, and he has very good reactions from close range. Alfie Whiteman would join Swedish side Degerfors on loan during their 2021 season, before returning to Spurs and later rejoining them on loan for the 2022 season, where he got some very good experience of playing regular football in the Swedish top flight. Not long after returning from his second loan move at Degerfors, Alfie played a match for the Spurs Under 21 side against Liverpool, in the Premier League 2. He had a really good game against Liverpool, making some fine saves and also organising the Spurs defence well. I am very pleased that Alfie has had his stay extended at Spurs, as along with Brandon Austin he really deserves it. Also, given the opportunity with the first team in a match, I am sure that he would do the club proud. I would like to congratulate Alfie on his new contract, and I wish him well for the remainder of this season.

Spurs Academy player Maksim Paskotši is an international footballer for Estonia, and at 20 he has already won 16 caps for his country. The former Flora Tallinn player who joined Spurs in 2020 and who impressed for the Spurs Under 18 side in his first season at the club, also scored quite a lot of goals for a defender whilst playing at that level for the club. Since the start of the 2021/22 season, the versatile defender has been with the Spurs Under 21 side on a permanent basis. And although he hasn’t always been a regular in the Under 21 side, he has started all four of Spurs’ Under 21’s four games this year, and I personally think that he has done very well in those matches. Although he started off in central defence when he first joined Spurs, Maksim has also shown his versatility in defence. He has defended really solidly in all four competitive matches that he has been involved in for the Spurs Under 21 side this season, and starting with the Liverpool game last month when Maksim completed 61 minutes and defended well against talented winger Ben Doak during some of that match, he has since gone onto put in three more really fine defensive performances.

Maksim Paskotši is a tenacious defender, who at left-back has shown his really good pace. He is strong in the challenge and can tackle well, and he has also shown his good reading of the game, and also his ability to get forward well to support the forward players. In the recent Under 21’s games against Arsenal, Brighton and Everton, Maksim has  impressed with his all-round game, and defensively with his tackling and positioning, and I think that he has done really well. He defended well on his side of the pitch against Charles Sagoe Jr in the game against Arsenal and against Liam Higgins and Nathan Patterson in the Everton game, whilst also doing well in the recent game with Brighton. Hopefully Maksim gets a really good run of games in the Spurs Under 21 side at left-back during the remainder of this season, as he continues to improve.

The Spurs Under 21 side recorded a 1-1 draw against Everton in Southport on Friday evening, to keep up their unbeaten start to the new year. The game didn’t get off to the best of starts for Spurs, with the home side taking the lead through Stanley Mills after just two minutes. However, Spurs grew into the game, and by the time that the final whistle was sounded, Spurs had created the better chances of the two sides, and thanks to Alfie Devine’s clever headed equalising goal, Spurs secured a good point in Southport. In the following piece I will be writing about some of the impressive performances in the Spurs side, in what was a good team performance. Defensively I thought that it was a good performance from Spurs. The impressive Brooklyn Lyons-Foster and Malachi Fagan-Walcott worked well together in central defence, and were decisive in their defending. Also, Lyons-Foster  was as always impressive on the ball, and he passed the ball well into midfield.

Midfielder Max Robson once again started the match at right-back. The 20 year old impressed, in my opinion. He defended well, but he also got forward well, impressing with his good pace and determination. And his forward runs were good, and he made one really good forward pass during the match. On the other side of the pitch, Maksim Paskotši had another good game at left-back. The Estonia international defended solidly on that side of the pitch, including against Everton’s first team right-back Nathan Patterson, who started the match for Everton’s Under 21 side on Friday. And in central midfield, Matthew Craig was very good for Spurs yesterday evening. The Scotland Under 21 international was everywhere in midfield, and his work-rate was superb. Craig used the ball well, and at times also covered well for other players. He has started the year really well for Spurs’ Under 21 side.

Finally I thought that Spurs’ goalscorer Alfie Devine had another good game for Spurs, and as well as taking his goal well, he also showed his class on the ball during his time on the pitch, whilst working well off the ball as well. And on the left flank for Spurs, Romaine Mundle had another very good game. Always very inventive on the ball and direct, Romaine did well against Nathan Patterson, during the Everton player’s time on the pitch. The 19 year old Spurs player also provided the assist for Alfie Devine’s first half goal, by delivering a good free-kick into the Everton penalty area. Spurs’ Under 21 side face Crystal Palace on Monday the 27th of February, in their next Premier League 2 fixture.