There are still a number of problems at Tottenham which Antonio Conte is working to iron out, but some of his answers could come from the players he already has.
The Italian decided to go with the same team that beat Leeds 4-0, when his side travelled to the Riverside Stadium for Spurs' FA Cup fifth round tie.
Middlesbrough came out with fight and a 107th minute winning goal ended the Lilywhites hopes of silverware this season.
With Conte having to deal with a number of injuries amongst his current squad, it has left spaces on the bench for some academy hopefuls to fill.
At Elland Road, the 52-year-old had four of the youngsters on his bench and against Chris Wilder's side he had three, with a number of them also regularly training with the first team.
Conte already delivered his verdict on young players getting a chance in his team, a number of years ago.
"If an old player, 36-years-old, makes me happy and helps me to win, I pick him. It's the same if a young player, 16-years-old, helps me to win. I'm ready to do this also," he admitted.
Dane Scarlett is the only of the academy players that has got any match minutes in the last two matches and the Italian was asked if this showed a lack of depth in his current squad.
"No, no, no. I don’t give a gift to my players, even if you’re 17 years old," he explained. "I think Dane is working hard, he is a really good prospect from the academy.
"At this moment for sure the best prospect from the academy. But we have a couple of really good players training with us and improving. Dane has to continue to work very hard."
Another standout amongst the academy players is Alfie Devine, who has scored seven goals and registered three assists in just 12 Premier League 2 games so far this season.
The 17-year-old made the move to the capital in 2020, after a youth career spent at Liverpool and Wigan.
Last year, some of those who worked with the youngster at Wigan praised his ability and what he can bring to a game.
"I remember the first time I saw him I just thought he had a bit of everything. He could handle the ball, hold off defenders, he had that determination," Peter Reid who was the technical director at Wigan when Devine was there explained, via The Athletic.
"He’s always had that technical ability and has a great chance of reaching the top."
One of Tottenham's ongoing problems that Conte has struggled to improve, especially with the absence of Oliver Skipp and Rodrigo Bentancur, is creativity in the middle of the field.
Academy manager at Wigan, Gregor Rioch, explained that Devine can add just that.
"He came to us and had been a centre-forward at Liverpool but we noticed he had the quality to link play between the back and front," Rioch said.
"His possession stats are very high and he passes the ball forwards, rather than sideways and backwards. He can play holding midfielder and link play up, he can also break forward from midfield with and without the ball and grab a goal."
Rioch also described what the youngster is like off the field, making a comparison to one of the Italian's key first team players.
"He is quite shy off the field; humble, not boisterous, a great kid," he explained. "I would put his character in the same mould as a Harry Kane type of person; mature for his age, a lot of belief in his ability, very approachable, lovely lad from a lovely family."
Another youngster who hasn't quite had the start he would've hoped for is Jack Clarke, who's been at Spurs since 2019, after signing for a fee of £10million.
The 21-year-old has previously received praise from Marcelo Bielsa, during his ten year spell at Leeds.
"I’m particularly happy for his performance because he answered in a game that was very difficult and he didn’t have any personality problem to assume and express his skills," the now former Leeds manager admitted after Clarke's debut in 2018.
Clarke has had various loan spells to try and continue his development and is currently playing at Sunderland, where he has already made seven League One appearances.
During his loan move to Stoke City last season, the 21-year-old got off to a good start and received early praise from Michael O'Neill.
"I thought he was very good. You can see straight away his ability on the ball," he admitted. "He can handle the ball very well. I thought he linked very well with Nathan Collins on that side and Joe Allen.
"In the three games since he's come in he's shown great quality and I think he can add something to us."
Getting more game time and experience during his loan spells is just what Clarke needs to aid his development and former Spurs goalkeeper, Paul Robinson, still thinks there is a chance for the youngster to succeed in north London despite his poor start.
"The Jack Clarke transfer is certainly one that has not worked out for Spurs," Robinson admitted, via Football Insider.
"When you look at the amount of loans he has had, it’s not good. He’s even struggled when he has gone out on loan.
"They paid a lot of money for a promising young talent. He needs to work hard to try and rediscover the form which got him the move to Tottenham," the 42-year-old added.
"He is still young though. There is time on his hands to turn things around. He clearly possesses immense quality so if he stays fit and plays games, he can realise his potential."
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Despite Conte's admission about playing youngsters if he believes they can help his side win, he has recently also spoken about experience on the field.
"I think that this is a situation that we have to improve and also I repeat, in a team it's important to have players with experience to manage the situation during the game," he admitted.
This is why loan spells can be beneficial for young players, like Skipp showed with his successful loan at Norwich last season.
The praise that Clarke and Devine have both received hints at qualities they have that could help improve the current Spurs squad.
The current academy youngsters in N17 are likely to find it hard to get game time for the rest of the season, with a tough battle for a top four spot still ongoing and no cup competitions left.
However if the likes of Clarke and Devine can continue their development and get as much game time as they can to aid them, there is potential for them both to be two young successes at Spurs in the near future.
