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Football London
Football London
Sport
Alasdair Gold & Sam Hill

Man City forward pre-agrees three-year contract with Tottenham ahead of summer transfer window

Tottenham Hotspur have come to a pre-contractual agreement to sign Manchester City academy forward Herbie James on a three-year deal. Spurs saw off competition from Premier League rivals Everton and Wolves to secure the youngster's signature, football.london understands.

The Lilywhites have a wealth of attacking talent in their current squad with Harry Kane, Richarlison, Son Heung-min and Dejan Kulusevski. City are renowned for their brilliant academy prospects with Southampton poaching Romeo Lavia from the Etihad Stadium last summer in a £12million deal.

James is thought to be highly-regarded within the game as a whole and within the City Football Academy system. The deal to sign the 16-year-old represents a smart piece of business by Spurs and is likely to be seen as a major coup by one of Manchester City’s Premier League rivals.

READ MORE: Tottenham's next manager stance, the Julian Nagelsmann decision and Cristian Stellini's big task

City signed James as an 11 year-old from Port Vale’s academy system back in the summer of 2018. The young talent originally spent just two days a week at Manchester City’s academy, and upon joining the club five years ago, told the Biddulph Chronicle: “It is very exciting.

"I am really ready for the long, hard journey ahead. My whole family support Manchester City so it has been a dream to play in the academy since I started playing football.

"I appreciate the support of my teachers, coaches, my big brothers, my dad, and most of all, my mum for getting me to training. I am looking forward to playing at the 2026 World Cup.”

Daniel Levy would be smart to employ a manager who is skilled in developing young players into world-class talents after taking the decision to sack Antonio Conte during the international break. Mauricio Pochettino had these credentials and is being linked with a shock return to N17, whilst former Bayern Munich manager Julian Nagelsmann has also been linked with the vacant managerial position at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

READ NEXT:

Daniel Levy, Paratici, Danjuma, Son and the winners and losers of Antonio Conte's Tottenham exit

Tottenham's next manager stance, the Julian Nagelsmann decision and Cristian Stellini's big task

Next Tottenham manager LIVE: All the latest on Spurs' search for a new boss after Antonio Conte was sacked

William Gallas remembers what he told a greedy Harry Kane as a youngster in Tottenham training

Antonio Conte breaks silence after being sacked as Tottenham manager amid Daniel Levy statement

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