The Future of THFC

Thursday night saw Tottenham knocked out of the FA Youth Cup in the hands of Arsenal, after reaching the quater-final. But I couldn’t help but think how many positives there were to draw from the performance. The previous Thurday, the whole bench for the UEFA Cup tie against Shakhtar was filled with seven youth products.

Club legends such as Glen Hoddle, Steve Perryman and Ledley King all thrived in the Spurs academy, and now there is a new generation of youngsters that could go on to make it all the way. John Bostock, Dean Parret and Jonathan Obika have all made appearences in the continental competition. So I thought I would take a look at a few of the latest academy products.

John Bostock

Position: Midfield

Age: 17

Main Attribute: Dribbling

Future Value: £16m

Turned 17 in January, Bostock became the youngest player to play for the club when he came off the bench in a UEFA match at home to Dynamo Zagreb. The midfielder’s summer transfer caused some controvesy, with the fee coming to just £750,000. A very talented flair player, Bostock is the one player that has been labelled as making it the whole way and fufilling his potential. He can pass a ball and has a decent shot on him, although wasn’t overly impressive last night.

Andros Townsend

Position: Winger

Age: 18

Main Attribute: Pace

Future Value: £8m

A pacey energetic left-sided winger, Townsend has become a regular in not only the Tottenham youth team, but also England youth teams. The 17-year-old was very impressive last night, and looked a threat whenever he got on the ball. With the ability to give ay full-back problems, he can also cut inside and play a killer ball. Could become a class act with a bit more experience, and would form a deadly partnership with Aaron Lennon in four to five years.

Jonathan Obika

Position: Striker

Age: 18

Main Attribute: Shooting

Future Value: £6m

Obika hs come off the bench in two UEFA Cup matches this campaign, and was the top scorer of the acedmy side last season, scoring 14 goals in 24 outings. He played just 24 matches for the Under-18s as he earned nine appearences for the reserves. He is a powerful striker who can strike a ball with conviction. He almost scored his first professional goal in the match he started against Shakhtar with a long-range effort.

Dean Parrett

Position: Midfielder

Age: 17

Main Attribute: Passing

Future Value: £4m

Parrett made his full debut for the club when he was named in the first eleven for the UEFA Cup Round of 32 first leg. A player who holds resemblences to John Bostock, the young Englishman signed from Queens Park Rangers in the summer for almost £1m. Also a regular for England’s youth teams, everybody involved with the club are very excited about this young prospect; who didn’t look out of place at all in his first team appearence.