Clubs across Europe, including Brighton, are keeping a close eye on Tottenham teenager Nile John as his contract runs towards its conclusion in a situation which shines a spotlight on the north London club.
The attacking central midfielder burst on to the scene a couple of seasons ago when he was handed his debut by Jose Mourinho from the bench as a 17-year-old in a Europa League knockout match against Wolfsberger AC. The England U19 international was then named on Spurs' bench in the Premier League by caretaker boss Ryan Mason for the final game of that season at Leicester City.
The following pre-season brought football aplenty for John, who is now 19, as Nuno Espirito Santo used him heavily and handed him his first start in the Europa Conference League qualifier at Pacos de Ferreira, albeit out of position in a front three. However, with the arrival of Antonio Conte, John, who was netting goals galore for the U21s, was unable to get into the Italian's thinking and was sent out to Charlton on an unsuccessful loan in League One for the second half of last season.
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Conte's drive to improve Tottenham's first team squad with ready-made players for the present has left little room for the pathway from the academy. The first team results are there to be seen with the club back in the Champions League and the top four, but a disconnect appears to be forming with that success and the route into the first team set-up for young players.
Last season, Dilan Markanday and Kion Etete were among those who left the club permanently to get their chance in the Championship, while academy midfielder Harvey White has been on the bench frequently under Conte but has not played a single minute under him despite being namechecked by the head coach from time to time.
Young signings Djed Spence, Bryan Gil and Pape Matar Sarr have also found game time hard to come by, the latter none at all. Even the club's most talented academy graduate of recent seasons, Oliver Skipp, has struggled for minutes since returning from injury this season - mostly due to the form of Rodrigo Bentancur and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg - and has played out of position as a more attacking player when he has been selected. Only 22-year-old Ryan Sessegnon, who signed from Fulham in the summer of 2019, has managed to get regular game time this season.
That disconnect between the first team success and the academy has led to the future of some young players coming into question and that includes John, who has been with Spurs since he was just seven and has captained the U21s for much of this season.
football.london understands that clubs across England and Europe, including Brighton, Basel and Cercle Brugge, have been keeping a close eye on the 19-year-old's situation, while coaches from Spurs' various opponents in the UEFA Youth League this season have noted his displays in the centre of the pitch.
John will be out of contract this summer with the club holding no option to extend his deal, which makes a loan move in January unlikely at this stage. An initial offer of a new deal is understood to have been tabled for the teenager, but the situation at Spurs has caused some young players to take stock.
Conte will point to the first team's success as the reason for his methods, but academy players may look to the upper reaches of the Premier League table and the likes of Cole Palmer and Rico Lewis having found a pathway to Manchester City's first team under Pep Guardiola, while down the road Mikel Arteta's young team sits on top of the pile with young players and academy products having got their chances among the signings.
Spurs have had changes behind the scenes with former technical performance director Steve Hitchen, who resigned in February, having been a strong link between the first team and academy. Ex-academy head John McDermott also had a close friendship with previous manager Mauricio Pochettino which ensured a strong collaboration between the first team and academy during the Argentine's reign.
In the wake of Hitchen's departure, Tottenham's managing director of football Fabio Paratici has brought in a lot of new faces in order to help restore the pathway to the academy.
Performance director Gretar Steinsson and head of football strategy Andy Scoulding have both arrived with a remit that includes first team and academy, while former Manchester City academy coach Simon Davies joined as head of coaching methodology to work with academy manager Dean Rastrick, who has been at the club for 12 years in various roles before stepping up to replace McDermott in 2020 when he left to join the FA.
Former Charlton boss Chris Powell is head of coaching for the the U17s to U23s group while ex-Premier League stars Yaya Toure and Jermain Defoe have also joined the academy coaching ranks.
It is expected to be a busy time ahead in terms of academy recruitment with a number of players like John coming towards the end of their contracts.
Wayne Burnett's U21s side has exemplified the changing nature of Spurs' academy with his pool of available players often altering from week to week, with some called up ahead of youth games to make up the numbers at late notice in Conte's injury-hit training sessions while the development squad have had their own long-term injuries to key players to deal with, such as Jamie Bowden and Tyrell Ashcroft, while big academy prospect Alfie Devine missed the early weeks of the campaign with a hamstring injury which prevented him heading off loan for first team minutes.
Spurs are bottom of the Premier League 2 division one table, without a win to their name in 13 matches this season and they will need to improve Burnett's squad as well as Conte's in January to prevent Spurs being relegated into division two, away from the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City, United and Chelsea. In contrast to their own position, Tottenham's north London rivals sit unbeaten on top of division one.
A number of emerging talent scouts were brought in during the summer, which resulted in the signing of 17-year-old striker Will Lankshear from Sheffield United for a reported £2million fee to help plug the gap left by needing to loan out talented forwards Dane Scarlett and Troy Parrott to get them regular football.
Tottenham want to change a recent history that has seen Marcus Edwards leave due to a blocked development path to eventually star at Sporting CP in the Champions League, including scoring against his old club this season, and Noni Madueke exit the academy to work his way up the ladder at PSV Eindhoven. Both players have been linked with returns to the north London club.
Spurs will need to strengthen their academy further in the coming months, but recruitment and keeping the academy's better young players could remain an issue if a pathway into Conte's squad cannot be found.
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