Antonio Conte may have found his next player in the Christian Eriksen mould with another impressive performance from Harvey White on Monday.
The 20-year-old played 90 minutes as Spurs U23s drew 1-1 with Blackburn Rovers U23s at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The midfielder has made 16 Premier League 2 appearances so far this season, scoring five goals and registering six assists, as well as being the side's captain.
The Lilywhites have already sent Kion Etete on loan to Cheltenham Town and on Tuesday the permanent move of Dilan Markanday to Blackburn Rovers was announced.
Appearances for the Tottenham youngsters with the first team this season have been few and far between, especially with their run in the Europa Conference League having ended in controversial fashion at the group stage.
In August 2020, Jose Mourniho praised the 20-year-old, despite saying he still required development.
"He is a kid but he is a talented kid," Mourinho explained. "Is he ready for the responsibilities, for the physicality, the intensity of the Premier League?"
"No, but is he ready to train with us every day to have that evolution and to play in these matches and eventually in some official matches where we need to rotate players? Yes he is, so good for him."
White has previously played in a left-back role but is now occupying the middle of the field. He helps link the defensive and offensive play, adding some creativity to the middle of the pitch at the same time.
The 20-year-old also has good ability with set-pieces, whipping in corners and free kicks, as well as contributing to goals and assists - just like Christian Eriksen did during his time in N17.
During the second half of last season, White spent his time at League One side Portsmouth. football.london has spoken to Hampshire Live's Jonty Colman, who covers Pompey, on White and his loan spell at Fratton Park.
What did you make of White in his appearances for Portsmouth?
It was a tough one to gauge with Harvey White. Much of his time at Pompey saw Kenny Jackett play him as a makeshift narrow left midfielder, which I do not think was his best position.
You could tell he was best suited centrally. There were flashes of encouragement, none more so than a glorious header against Oxford United to earn a 1-0 win against a side Pompey have lots of recent history with.
Midway through the loan, Jackett was sacked and in came Danny Cowley for the final 12 games of the campaign. White did not start any of them but made a few cameo outings off the bench. You can tell there is a decent player there, he probably just needs more exposure to senior football.
What do you think his key strengths are?
He has a lovely left foot on him, you could put it under the cliché of cultured left foot. Is there such thing as a cultured right foot?
For someone who is rather small compared to the standard build of a League One professional, he certainly was not afraid to put his foot in.
Especially his long passing, I remember one in particular at Fratton Park that should have led to a goal, had Ronan Curtis been more composed up front.
Do you think he improved as his loan spell went on?
Yes and no. You could tell he was getting more and more used to it despite getting less time when Cowley came in, not that he didn’t rate him highly.
Again, I’d like to see him have half of a full season in League One as a central midfielder with regular starts and see how he fares.
Do you think he would benefit from another loan move?
Absolutely. Not just in White’s case but in any player’s, I would advocate how good a spell away can be for development.
At Pompey, he got to play a wide range of opponents and even started the 2019/20 Papa John’s Trophy final (played 12 months late) at Wembley.
Plenty of great experiences, but a year in academy football will limit his growth. Let’s hope it is not too much longer until we see White back in senior football.
It is understood that Conte likes to know what he will get from a player but will use young players if it is the right time, as seen when Dane Scarlett got some match minutes in Tottenham's latest FA Cup fixture against Morecambe.
With Markanday's exit, despite thriving for the academy, it does indicate just how much work needs to be done for the Spurs youngsters - despite a number of them regularly training with the first team.
However, Oliver Skipp has proven how successful a loan spell can be, as he has now become a key member of Conte's regular XI.
The best situation for the 20-year-old could be to go out on loan for the rest of the season in order to continue his development with regular, senior game time.
He could then return with more experience and hopefully will catch the eye of Conte, to increase his chances of making a breakthrough into the first team.
