A versatile player, former Spurs Academy player Moroyin Omolabi, was capable of playing in defence, at centre-half or in a midfield role, during his time at Spurs. Omolabi joined Spurs full-time in the summer of 2016, and over the next season and a half (2016/17 and the first half of 2017/18) he would make a total of 22 league appearances for the Spurs Under 18 side, scoring one goal and providing one assist. Moroyin played at centre-half and in central-midfield, during his season and a half as a scholar at the club. At the start of the 2017/18 season (while still a second year scholar) the former Spurs Academy player teamed up on some occasions with Brooklyn Lyons-Foster at centre-half, where he did well. I remember Moroyin being very good in the air, composed on the ball and good in the challenge. I also remember Omolabi being good at reading defensive situations, as well. Around halfway through the 2017/18 season, Moroyin Omolabi left Spurs as a second year scholar, and joined Reading, where he started playing some matches for their Under 18 side. 

The defender made some competitive appearances for Reading’s Under 18 side during the remainder of the season, and in one Premier League South game against Norwich City, he scored two goals from midfield, in a 4-1 win. Then during the following 2018/19 season, Moroyin made two Premier League 2 appearances for Reading’s Under 23 side. The former Spurs player left Reading at the end of the 2018/19 season, and then he joined non-League side Berkhamsted, in November of 2019. After some time spent there, Moroyin joined another non-League side in Grays Athletic, who he was with for a while. And most recently Moroyin had been playing in the third tier of Swedish football, with Ljungskile, who he made 19 league appearances for during last season. Omolabi last made a squad for Ljungskile, who finished in sixth place in their league, last season, back in November of last year, when he came on as a late second half substitute against Lindome. Ljungskile’s new league season starts in April of this year, but I have been unable to find out whether or not Moroyin will still be playing for them during the new season. However, I wish him all the very best of luck for his future in the game.

Centre-forward Reo Griffiths (21) was at Spurs for a number of years as an Academy player, after making the move from his first club Leyton Orient. A very versatile player, who could play in defence, out-wide, in midfield and up-front as a centre-forward, prior to signing scholarship forms with Spurs, when Reo would often lead the line for the Spurs Under 18 side. After signing scholarship forms in the summer of 2016, the former England youth international became a regular for the Spurs Under 18 side, and although he didn’t always play up-front as a centre-forward during that 2016/17 season. He still scored a good number of goals. Griffiths was also an important member of the Spurs Under 18 side that reached the semi-final’s of that seasons FA Youth Cup, and he scored one goal in the quarter-final 5-3 win over Newcastle United, that season. In 2017/18 Reo had an outstanding season with then Head Coach Scott Parker’s Spurs Under 18 side, when he was honestly unplayable in nearly every game that season. The then second year scholar scored a combined total of 34 goals for the Spurs Under 18 side, and the Under 19 side in the UEFA Youth League, and also provided 12 assists for his teammates.

During 2017/18 Reo, who hadn’t really long started playing up-front by that stage in his career, was really adding a lot more to his game. He was holding the ball up really well, bringing others into play, and most importantly of all scoring a real variety of goals. The centre-forward finished the 2017/18 season as top scorer in the Under 18 Premier League South, with 27 goals. Griffiths also made four competitive appearances for the Spurs Development side during 2017/18. In recent years however, Reo’s outstanding goalscoring total will probably not be bettered or even matched for a very long time, by a Spurs Academy player. However, at the start of the following 2018/19 season Reo departed Spurs, as he moved to France to join French side Olympique Lyon, on a contract until the summer of 2022. The former Spurs player made his competitive debut for Olympique Lyon B, in the fourth tier of French football, as a substitute in a league game with FC Martigues, in December of 2018. He made a further seven competitive appearances for Olympique Lyon B, during the remainder of that season. 

Strong in the air and a clinical finisher, who likes to try his luck on goal from distance. Griffiths scored six goals and provided one assist from 16 competitive appearances for Olympique Lyon B, during 2019/20. He then scored six goals from nine league appearances during the following 2020/21 season, when he captained Lyon’s B team on three occasions. However, during the current 2021/22 season Reo has only made one appearance for Olympique Lyon B. With that coming in a 4-0 league defeat to Marignane G. FC, in October of last year. That was his first competitive game of football for a long time. He last made a squad for Olympique Lyon B in November of 2021, and with Reo’s contract running out at the end of this season, it will be interesting to see if he does stay with Lyon, in France, or if he even comes back to England at some stage. I always enjoyed watching Reo play for Spurs at Academy level, and in particular during that 2017/18 season he was just so consistently good. I wish him all the very best for the rest of the 2021/22 season, and also for his future in the game.

Full-back Tariq Hinds was at Spurs as an Academy player for a number of years, up until leaving them at the end of his contract in the summer of 2020. The Goodmayes born footballer who is capable of playing at full-back on either flank, or in central-midfield, was a player who was consistent in my opinion, and also very reliable during his time as a Spurs Academy player. Hinds signed scholarship forms with Spurs during the summer of 2016, and he would make his first competitive appearance of the season for the Spurs Under 18 side in a 5-1 home league win over Aston Villa in the August of 2016. Making good progress during that 2016/17 season, Tariq also stepped up to play for the Spurs Under 23 side on occasions during that season. The then first year scholar had a memorable game against Swansea City at Under 18 level during 2016/17, when he scored a brace against them, while playing in central-midfield. Tariq helped Spurs’ Under 18 side reach the final of the Under 18 Premier League Cup, during the following 2017/18 season, when he was a regular and important player for the Spurs Under 18 side for the second consecutive season.

Hinds stepped up permanently to the Spurs Under 23 side during the 2018/19 season, when once again I thought that he did well on a consistent basis. A good all-round full-back, who reads the game well and is tenacious, but who also is a really good and skilful footballer who has good pace and who likes to take players on. Tariq is a real team player and one who will always give his all for the team. He reads situations really well, and is always alert. And his versatility and ability to comfortably play at full-back on either flank, or in midfield, is something which is really impressive. During his final season at Spurs (2019/20), Tariq played almost every game for the Spurs Development side, and he often filled in at left-back because Dennis Cirkin was injured for quite a bit of that season. A really determined player, Hinds provided two assists for Wayne Burnett’s side during that season, and he put in very good performances for the Under 23 side against the likes of Manchester City, Liverpool and Everton. However, he was released by the club at the end of the 2019/20 season, and he would then unfortunately spend some time without a club.

Tariq decided to try a new footballing culture and he joined Portuguese side Lusitano Évora, and he played there for a while during the 2020/21 season, in what must have been a really good experience for him. He returned to England for the beginning of this season, and he joined National League South side Billericay Town, in October of 2021. The now 21 year old has made 11 league appearances for Billericay since joining them, and he seems to be doing well for them. His most recent appearance for them came as recently as Tuesday, when he played for them against Slough Town, in the National League South, in a game which ended 1-1. Teammates of Tariq’s at Billericay, are former Spurs players Shaq Coulthirst and Jack Munns. Tariq also plays in the same league as former Spurs Academy player Maxwell Statham. Billericay are currently in bottom place in the National League South, but hopefully they can stay up. I wish Tariq all the very best of luck for the remainder of the season, and for his future in the game.

It’s quite rare for two players who are brothers, to progress up the ranks at Academy level at the same club and play for them at the very highest level of Academy football. However, for three brothers (all at different times) to feature for the same club at Academy level, is very rare. In the following piece from my series following the former Spurs Academy players and where they are now, I will be looking at the three Maghoma brothers – Jacques, Christian and Paris. And I will be looking at their footballing journey so far, post Spurs. While Jacques played at Academy level before my time of watching Spurs at Academy level, I have seen quite a lot of him play in more recent years. While his younger brothers – Christian and Paris, were players who I saw a lot of for Spurs at Academy level. All three brothers are still playing the game.

Jacques Maghoma: Born in Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, now 34 year old winger Jacques Maghoma progressed up the youth ranks at Spurs during the 2000s, and would progress up to the reserve side. A very skilful and reliable player, who did have injury troubles during the early parts of his footballing career, Jacques would end up featuring for the Spurs first team in some friendly matches during his time at the club. Jacques later signed for Burton Albion, after being released by Spurs at the end of the 2008/09 season. By the time that he had left Spurs, he had played a really good number of games for the Spurs reserve side. Jacques had a successful time at Burton, scoring a good number of goals, and would end up staying at the club until 2013, when he transferred to Sheffield Wednesday. He spent two seasons with Sheffield Wednesday, before leaving at the end of the 2014/15 season, after his contract came to an end. He joined Championship side Birmingham City, when Gary Rowett (previous Burton Albion manager) was the manager, and his time at Birmingham was probably the most successful of his career, so far. 

A regular for Birmingham City, during the majority of his time at the club, Jacques spent five seasons with Birmingham, and he enjoyed some really good times with them (he won two club end of season awards at the end of the 2017/18 season). Direct and expressive with the ball at his feet, but always working hard without it, Maghoma became an important player for the side. He left the club from the English Midlands in the summer of 2020. He joined Indian Super League side East Bengal in the October of 2020. He scored three goals and provided one assist from 19 competitive appearances for them, during his season with the club. In the October of the following year, and after sometime without a club, Jacques joined National League South side Hemel Hempstead, during the current 2021/22 season. He has so far made six competitive appearances for them, providing one assist from those appearances. During his career so far, Jacques has also won 25 international caps for his country DR Congo, in what has been a very good footballing career so far. 

Christian Maghoma: Centre-half Christian Maghoma was born in Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, but brought up in north London. Christian Maghoma joined Spurs as a schoolboy footballer, was an important player for the Spurs Under 18 side that won the Southern Division, before then signing scholarship forms with the club in summer of 2014. A mainstay in the Spurs Under 18 side during the 2014/15 season, Christian stepped up to make his competitive debut for the then Under 21 side during the same season. A tall centre-half, who is excellent in the air, but strong in the challenge, Christian established himself as an important player for the Spurs Development side during the 2015/16 (he spent some time with Yeovil on loan during that season), 2016/17 and 2017/18 seasons, and he would captain the side on numerous occasions. He made his one appearance to date for DR Congo, in 2017, in a friendly. Christian joined Polish side Arka Gdynia at the end of the 2017/18 season, and early on in his time with them he won his first senior competitive trophy – the Superpuchar Polski. Christian made a total of 39 competitive first team appearances for Arka Gdynia.

Christian returned to England and signed for League One side Gillingham, in the summer of 2020. He has so far made 12 competitive appearances for Gillingham, but joined National League side Eastleigh on a loan during this season, where he has so far been doing well, playing a number of matches for them. Christian has made 18 competitive appearances for Eastleigh, so far this season, scoring two goals. They are currently in 14th place in the National League. A leader on the pitch, the now 24 year old defender has been making good strides this season, and I hope that he continues to do well from now until the end of the season.

Paris Maghoma: Londoner Paris Maghoma was at Spurs as an Academy player as recently as 2020. The central-midfielder/CAM, who was also capable of playing out wide, was a player who I was a big fan of during his time at the club. Paris made his competitive debut for the Spurs Under 18 side during the 2016/17 season, and would sign scholarship forms with the club before the start of the 2017/18 season. Always looking to take players on for skill, pass the ball forward and look for create chances for teammates, Paris became an important player for both the Spurs Under 18 side and Under 23 side, during the 2018/19 season, and he scored a good number of goals and provided a good number of assists during that season. During the pre-season of the 2018/19 season, the midfielder made his one and only appearance for the Spurs first team, in a friendly match with Spanish side Girona. Paris spent the first half of the following 2019/20 season with the Spurs Under 23 side, before moving to then Championship side Brentford, who he joined on a permanent transfer in the January of 2020.

The now 20 year old footballer has made many appearances for Brentford’s B team, since signing for them. He has also made the bench for their first team in competitive games on six occasions so far. The England youth international is definitely a player with a very promising future in the game, and I personally reckon that it’s only a matter of time before he makes his competitive debut for now Premier League club Brentford. He was an absolute pleasure to watch play for Spurs at Academy level, and his ability to go past players from the opposing team at ease, open up defences with a well weighted forward pass, and also score goals made him such an influential player for the Spurs Under 18 and 23 side. Paris recently signed a new contract with Brentford, which runs until 2025.

Defender Maxwell Statham left Spurs at the end of the 2019/20 season, after having been at the club as an Academy player for many years. The Southend born player, who is the son of former Spurs player Brian Statham, signed scholarship forms with Spurs in the summer of 2017. He was part of a very talented age group that joined the club on a full-time basis for the 2017/18 season. Statham would make a good number of appearances for the Spurs Under 18 side that season, and he impressed during the following pre-season, when he put in some really strong defensive performances for the Development side. Maxwell would make further competitive appearances for the Spurs Under 18 side in the 2018/19 season, including one in the FA Youth Cup, and in total during his time at Spurs, he made over 25 competitive appearances for them at Under 18 level. Statham also made one competitive appearance for Norwich City’s Under 23 side while on trial at the club. However, the centre-half, who can also play at full-back, stayed at Spurs for the 2019/20 season. Impressing once again for the Development side during pre-season, Maxwell made the bench on two occasions for the Spurs Under 23 side in the Premier League 2 that season. Unfortunately the then 19 year old left the club at the end of that season, after his contract came to an end.

A very brave centre-half, who is very strong in the air, has good reading of the game and who is also good on the ball, Statham is a player who always give his all, and who has always impressed with his range of passing. After leaving Spurs in the summer of 2020, Maxwell was without a club for a little while, before signing for Watford in the September of that year. During the season that he spent at Watford, Maxwell played for the club’s Under 23 side throughout the 2020/21 season. Some of Maxwell’s teammates that season included former Spurs teammates Phoenix Patterson and Maurizio Pochettino. Maxwell and Phoenix left Watford at the end of the 2020/21 season, with Phoenix joining Irish side Waterford, and Maxwell joining Isthmian Premier Division side Hornchurch FC (former Spurs player Mark Stimson is the manager at Hornchurch) a month or so later, in September of 2021. The former Spurs Academy player got some good experience playing senior football for Hornchurch, during his relatively short time at the club. However, after impressing for Hornchurch, Maxwell was signed by National League South side (one division higher) Welling United, with their manager Peter Taylor also a former Spurs player.

Since signing for Welling United in October of this year, the now 21 year old footballer has made five competitive appearances for them in the National League South, since making his debut for them against Hemel Hempstead on the 23rd of October. Maxwell has been playing at centre-half for Welling, and he has so far helped them to keep two clean-sheets. The most recent clean-sheet for Welling United came yesterday, when they beat Tonbridge Angels 1-0 at home. I traveled to Welling to watch Maxwell play on Saturday. And also playing and captaining Welling United on Saturday was former Spurs player Olumide Durojaiye. However, Maxwell had a very solid game on the right side of central-defence, in a back four, for Peter Taylor’s side. Winning everything that there was to win in the air, making some nice forward passes out of defence and also impressing with his reading of the game, this was a very good performance from Maxwell. Starting all of Welling’s games since joining them last month, Maxwell will no doubt be learning a lot from the very experienced manager Peter Taylor, as well as learning a lot from playing senior football on a regular basis. It was great to see Maxwell perform so well in defence against Tonbridge Angels, and it’s really good to see him doing so well for himself. I’m sure that the young defender will continue to rise up through the leagues over the course of the next few years, and I wish him all the very best of luck for his future in the game.

An exciting, hardworking and very creative forward during his days as a Spurs Academy player – Phoenix Patterson was part of a very talented Academy age group at the club. The now 21 year old who is playing his football at League of Ireland Premier Division side Waterford FC, is doing very well for his new club. However, going back to the 2016/17 season at Spurs, when he was a schoolboy footballer the High Wycombe born player who joined Spurs at a young age would go onto make 13 competitive Under 18 appearances for Spurs. Patterson along with Oliver Skipp stepped up to make a really good number of appearances for Spurs’ Under 18 that season, and both didn’t look out of place at all. Phoenix signed scholarship forms with Spurs for the start of the following 2017/18 season, and it was another season of really good progress for the player who can play on either flank, as a CAM or in central midfield. That season the former Scotland Under 19 international finished the season with the most assists within the Spurs Under 18 side, and he also made his debut for Spurs’ Under 19 side in the UEFA Youth League. During his second year of scholarship Patterson started the season really well and was a regular in a superb Spurs Under 18 side. However, shortly after making just his third competitive appearance for Spurs’ Development side in an EFL Trophy game against Portsmouth (he was Spurs’ best player that day), he picked up quite a bad injury. This ruled him out until the April of 2019.

Once Patterson returned to action he played six further matches for Spurs’ various Academy sides. For the following 2019/20 season he was promoted to the Spurs Under 23 side, and during that season which was finished early he made 16 competitive appearances for the Development side. However, at the end of that season Phoenix was unfortunately released by the club. His subsequent footballing journey took him firstly to Watford, who he joined during the 2020/21 season. Playing with former Spurs teammates Maxwell Statham and Maurizio Pochettino, Patterson played for Watford’s Under 23 side, and he was a regular for them during that season, scoring four league goals for them. The former Spurs player ended up leaving Watford at the end of the 2020/21 season, and he spent sometime without a club. However, during the summer just gone Phoenix joined Irish side Waterford FC. He made his debut against Drogheda United in the July of 2021. He has since made eight further competitive appearances in all competitions for Waterford. Patterson has adapted to Irish football really well, and he has scored four goals in all competitions and also registered two assists. Helping along with other players to really improve Waterford after they had a difficult start to the season, I watched Phoenix play for Waterford in their most recent match – against Drogheda United.

In the match against Drogheda – the young footballer was in my opinion the best player on the pitch, as Waterford played at their own ground in front of their fans. Playing out on the left flank Phoenix created one big chance, went on some excellent forward runs at pace with the ball and scored the winning goal from inside the Drogheda box, after a free-kick was played quickly to him. The lively winger who showed some really good skill on the ball and was always very direct and enthusiastic with it, also had two efforts well saved by the goalkeeper during the match. It is great to see Phoenix doing so well for Waterford as they continue to try and finish above the relegation play-off place in the league. While at Spurs I always enjoyed watching him play, as he is such a creative player who is so unselfish with the ball, but who also works really hard off it and scores goals as well. I would like to wish Phoenix all the very best of luck for the rest of the season – he has an FAI Cup semi-final to look forward to and a lot more to offer Waterford this season. I’m. sure that he has a very good future in the game to look forward to as well.

“ To play with Sam he was always a hard worker, who always gave 100% per cent. He played centre-mid or right-back when I played with him and you always knew what you were going to get with him. Nothing fancy, nothing special but always gave everything for the team. Done the dirty work. I would hate to play against him. ” (Danny Hutchins)

Samuel Peter Cox is a name that many Spurs fans will be familiar with because of his association with Spurs as a player, and now as an Academy coach. Part of a very talented Spurs youth side that played during the late 2000s, London born footballer Sam Cox joined Spurs as a schoolboy footballer, and later signed scholarship forms with the club for the start of the 2007/08 season. From there the talented and versatile player who can play as a holding midfielder or as a full-back progressed into the Spurs Under 18 side, where he became a regular for them. The then Spurs player played with the likes of Steven Caulker, Ryan Mason, John Bostock, Harry Kane, Andros Townsend and Danny Rose, to name just some of the members of what was an incredibly talented Spurs youth team. Sam later progressed up from the Under 18 side, and he even made a first team match-day squad for Spurs in a UEFA Cup tie against Shakhtar Donetsk at White Hart Lane back in the late 2000s. The defensive minded midfielder who always gave 100% on the pitch for Spurs during his days at the club was and still very much is a very difficult player to play against. Playing the game at a high intensity, Sam is a very determined player regardless of where he plays on the pitch, and he never allows players to have any time on the ball, such is his fantastic work rate. However, he is also a good technical player who has good skill on the ball as well.

While a part of the Spurs reserve side Sam went out on some loans, starting with a loan to Cheltenham Town, then a loan to Histon FC and then Torquay United. Sam left Spurs permanently at the end of the 2009/10 season to join Barnet, as he began a new footballing journey, one which would see him experience some of the highest levels of non-League football. After over a year with Barnet where he was part of the side who incredibly avoided relegation to the non-League, Sam joined Boreham Wood on loan until the February of 2012. Then after coming back to Barnet and seeing out the remainder of the 2011/12 season with them the former Spurs man joined up with Hayes & Yeading (he was the captain of the team) for the start of the 2012/13 season, and he played for them for that season. However, Sam would return to Boreham Wood for the following season, and he would spend just over three successful years with them. During his time with Boreham Wood Sam played with and was also coached by another former Spurs player, in Mario Noto. After those years spent at Boreham Wood during his second time there Sam moved onto another non-League side in Wealdstone. After a good time there he joined Hampton & Richmond Borough FC on an initial loan move in the autumn of 2018, and he would sign for them on a permanent transfer in the September of 2019. Sam has been with Hampton & Richmond Borough FC since then, where he has gone onto become an important player for the team, and he played for them as recently as last Saturday, in a 1-1 draw with Tonbridge Angels FC.

During the 2020/21 The Vanarama National League South season (it wasn’t completed that season) Sam helped Hampton & Richmond Borough FC to achieve a sixth place finish in the league, just ten points off of league leaders Dorking Wanderers. And he will no doubt be an important player for Hampton & Richmond Borough FC again this season in the league and in the FA Cup. Probably Sam’s greatest achievement to date in his footballing career has been captaining the Senior national team of Guyana, and he was an important part of the Guyana side that qualified for the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup, something which he must be incredibly proud of. In addition to his playing career with Hampton & Richmond Borough and Guyana, the one time Spurs player has since returned to the club where he started his playing career at, this time as an Academy coach. A promising young coach, Sam is helping Spurs’ very talented young players to improve their game, and I’m sure that as an ex-player that the current Academy players all look up to him. I actually asked a former Spurs Academy player what it was like to be coached by Sam during his time at the club. The former Spurs Academy player told me that he connected with the Academy players not only by being a coach, but also as somewhat a team as well (this ex-Spurs player actually played with Sam in a pre-season friendly back in 2018). The ex-Spurs Academy player also told me how that going through the same journey as some of the Academy players, how he knew what it took and also what coaches looked out for.

A player who has always made a positive impact on the pitch for the clubs that he has played for, Sam Cox was a very popular player at Spurs, and for all that he has achieved so far in his footballing career Sam should be very proud. As to be able to play at one of the highest levels of non-League football is something which is still a great achievement, as is playing international football. I would like to wish Sam all the very best of luck for the remainder of the season both on and off the pitch, and I definitely plan on catching a Hampton & Richmond game this season, as it’s always great to follow the progress of the ex-Spurs Academy lads.

A Spurs Academy player for over a decade, versatile player Jamie Reynolds was born in Westminster but brought up in Grays in Essex, and he had been playing for Chelsea’s Academy and also Grays Cosmos prior to joining Spurs. After working his way up the Academy ranks at Spurs, Reynolds joined the club on a full-time basis in the summer 2016, signing scholarship forms with the club after having missed the majority of the previous 2015/16 season through injury. Reynolds played predominantly in midfield for our under 18 side during his first year of scholarship at Spurs, making 13 competitive appearances for the Spurs under 18 side, scoring one goal and also registering one assist. Jamie demonstrated his ability on the ball during that particular season, and he was really tidy with it, and he also worked well off the ball. Reynolds started the first three competitive games of the following 2017/18 season in central midfield once again, but starting with an Under 18 Premier League South game against Southampton in the September of 2017, Reynolds was moved out to play at left-back. He adapted really well to playing in that particular position, and he was given license to get forward in that role, and in the games that he played for Spurs during the 2017/18 season I thought that he really flourished from playing in that position. A regular for Spurs’ under 18 side that  season, the tigerish but skilful left-back who loved to get forward, also demonstrated really good defensive ability, particularly in one-on-one situations. Strong in the challenge and with good pace to his game, Reynolds put in some really strong performances during the season, such as in a UEFA Youth League game against AS Monaco’s under 19 which we won, and also against Liverpool’s under 18 side in the Premier League Cup, a game which we won 4-0.

A really good crosser of the ball, Jamie Reynolds was really potent going forward and the creative side of his game meant that he created a good number of chances over the course of the season, and he ended up registering six assists for Spurs’ under 18 side that season. Jamie was making really good progress that season up until he sustained a bad injury in an under 18 league game against Norwich City at the Norfolk clubs Colney training centre, in the April of 2018. Having to be helped off the pitch by the Spurs physios, Reynolds did not play again that season. In fact Reynolds missed the whole of the next pre-season, and he didn’t make his competitive return to action for Spurs until the October of 2018, when he completed a half of football for our under 23 side, in a 1-0 Premier League 2 victory over Leicester City. By now a first year professional at Spurs and a part of our under 23 side, Jamie made seven more competitive appearances for Spurs at Academy level during the remainder of the 2018/19 season, but sadly he left the club after his contract came to an end in the summer of 2019. Reynolds did actually play again for Spurs as a triallist, featuring in a pre-season friendly for a Spurs development side in July 2019, when we played against Ebbsfleet United, and Jamie did well on the pitch that day, but that was to be the last time that he played for Spurs. A player who is good at making overlapping runs down the left flank, and who is also a good passer of the ball, Reynolds spent some time without a club after leaving Spurs. I recently caught up with Jamie’s old Spurs teammate Charlie Freeman and regarding Jamie he said “Jamie and I both joined Spurs at a similar time and played together for around ten years. Jamie always had great ball control and was confident to drive at players, over time he became very physically strong however, he was majorly set back due to knee and shin injurys, like me game time got tough, but off the pitch Jamie was and still is one of my closest friends, we shared digs together and it made both our stays a lot more enjoyable. He’s a great lad and was well respected at Spurs! ” Reynolds signed for National League South side Billericay Town during the first half of the 2019/20 season, with former Spurs player Jamie O’Hara the manager of the Essex Club. 

Reynolds only featured on a couple of occasions for Billericay’s first team (he made his competitive debut for them as a substitute in an FA Cup first round tie against Forest Green Rovers), but he left Billericay not long afterwards. He then ended up trialling with category one Academy side Sunderland, and Jamie played one Premier League 2 game for their under 23 side, playing at left-back in a 3-0 defeat to Manchester United, but Reynolds never ended up signing for Sunderland. However, in the December of 2019 he signed for Isthmian Premier Division side Cheshunt F.C. (former Spurs player Mark Hughes was the assistant manager at Cheshunt at the time), and Reynolds has played a good number of games since jointing the Hertfordshire club in 2019. Unfortunately the Isthmian Premier Division was stopped during the March of 2020, but in the following 2020/21 season Jamie has got a really good run of games in senior football, scoring three goals from left-back during the 2020/21 season, with his first of the season coming against Horsham, Reynolds demonstrated his quality going forward with the ball. Sadly the Isthmian Premier Division has been stopped since November of last year, although the former Spurs man who is now 21, did play in Cheshunt’s last game of competitive football, when they played Dulwich Hamlet in the FA Trophy in the December of 2020. Since I’ve started this series of articles on looking at where former Spurs Academy players are now, I strongly believe just like in the previous articles on former Spurs Academy players who I’ve written on, that Reynolds is  another player who has great potential to go really far in the game. And I have no doubts whatsoever that in the future Jamie will rise up in the leagues in England and enjoy a really good career in the game.

(In the above photograph Kodi is pictured second on the extreme right, to the left of Joe Pritchard.)

Islington born defender Kodi Lyons-Foster is a real footballing centre-half, just like his younger brother Brooklyn who currently plays for Spurs’ under 23 side. Kodi Lyons-Foster joined Spurs relatively late on as a schoolboy, but he settled in well at the club that he has always supported. A very gifted player, Lyons-Foster is a modern day centre-half, always a player who was good on the ball the Londoner can pass well off both his left and right foot. A tall but quick defender who reads the game well and who is also good at bringing the ball out from the back, Kodi is also strong in the air, but the player who came to Spurs as a centre-half would move into midfield for a spell at the club, playing primarily as a number four. However, he came back to play at centre-half after a period of time playing as a defensive midfielder for Spurs at Academy level, and the composed defender would enjoy some very successful times at the club. Such as when he impressed for a Spurs youth side at the prestigious Milk Cup in Northern Ireland at two successive tournaments, in 2011 and 2012. Kodi also performed really well for Spurs’ youth team at a tournament in Solsona, Spain, and he also played at a number of other tournaments in Europe during his time at the club. He was also picked to represent England at youth level, and he played for their under 16 side at the Victory Shield one year, and he did well for his country. A player who would constantly step up to play for the year above his age group at Spurs, in his final year as a schoolboy at Spurs he would also train with the under 21 side regularly. However, unfortunately Kodi wasn’t offered scholarship terms by Spurs, and he left the club at the end of the 2012/13 season.

Lyons-Foster signed scholarship forms with Aston Villa in the summer of 2013 for the start of the 2013/14 Academy season, and the former Spurs player would go on to play many a game for Aston Villa at under 18 level. He also captained their under 18 side on a good number of occasions, but he only made three competitive appearances for their then under 21 side, making his competitive debut for them in a league game against Bolton Wanderers in the March of 2015. In that particular game Kodi played with current Aston Villa star Jack Grealish, while he also played against his future Aldershot Town central-defensive partner Alex Finney. Lyons-Foster suffered a bad injury towards the end of his time at Aston Villa which set him back quite a bit, but after leaving them in the summer of 2016 he joined Bristol City, a club whose under 23 side he would play for. Kodi spent a season at Bristol City, he also went on a short loan to Guernsey FC, as well as trialling for Irish Premier Division side Derry City during his time there. And after playing at centre-half for them in friendlies against UCD and Cabinteely FC respectively, the Irish side who were then managed by Kenny Shiels wanted to sign Kodi, but it wasn’t the right time for him to move countries, so in the end he declined. After leaving Bristol City at the end of his contract in the summer of 2017, Kodi decided to step into the non-League, when he signed for Aldershot Town that summer. Lyons-Foster was loaned out to then National League South side Whitehawk FC in the October of that year for a short period of time.

The Londoner did return to Aldershot but he was given a free transfer to sign for Whitehawk on a permanent basis in the January of 2018. A versatile defender who I watched as recently as last Saturday, when he played in central defence for Aldershot against Bromley, when I thought that he put in a solid defensive performance. Kodi can also fill in at right-back and as a defensive midfielder, and he is also good at organising the defence. The former Spurs Academy player unfortunately couldn’t prevent Whitehawk from being relegated to the Isthmian Premier Division that season, and he ended up leaving them in the August of 2018. He joined then National League side Braintree Town for the start of the 2018/19 season, and he did well as he got regular games in the top division of the non-League, but unfortunately he suffered relegation again, as Braintree Town were relegated to the National League South at the end of that season. However, Kodi rejoined Aldershot for the beginning of the 2019/20 season, and during that particular season the determined defender was a regular in the side, and he put in some strong defensive performances over the course of the season, which ended up coming to a halt in March of 2020. He remained with Aldershot for the current 2020/21 season and so far he is doing really well for Danny Searle’s side, and he is starting virtually every game alongside Alex Finney in the heart of defence, and the pair complement each other on the pitch. The player who was part of the same age group as Kyle Walker-Peters and Anthony Georgiou at Spurs, is getting stronger as a defender by each passing game.

Kodi seems to be popular at Aldershot with the fans, and the more games that he plays the player who is fast approaching 100 National League appearances will get closer and closer to playing in the EFL, something that I have no doubt that he will achieve, and from there even greater things will follow for him. A defender with great technical ability, at only 24 Kodi Lyons-Foster is still a player with a lot of potential I feel. To already have played almost 100 games in a really tough league like the National League is a tremendous achievement for Kodi at his age, and to have left Academy football without having played a competitive senior game, and make the brave step into the non-League is something which should be applauded, and Kodi should be very proud of what he has achieved so far in his footballing career. Aldershot currently occupy 15th place in the National League, but are only six points off the play-off places. I would like to wish Kodi all the very best of luck for the remainder of the 2020/21 season with Aldershot Town, and I look forward to continuing to follow his progress in the game.