Tottenham face a conundrum over UEFA’s squad rules in Europe next season after releasing Japhet Tanganga and Ryan Sessegnon at the end of their contracts.
Spurs will return to a revamped Europa League after finishing fifth in the Premier League this season.
UEFA rules state clubs must include four ‘club-trained’ players – who were on their books for three seasons between the ages of 15 and 21 – in their 25-man European squads.
After Tanganga’s exit, Spurs currently have just four eligible players in the squad: goalkeepers Brandon Austin and Alfie Whiteman; Oliver Skipp; and Troy Parrott.
Skipp is eager for more first-team football next term and could be a contender for a move this summer, while Parrott also faces an uncertain future after returning from a successful loan at Eredivisie club Excelsior Rotterdam.
Spurs must also name at least four ‘association-trained players’, who were on the books of another English or Welsh for three years between 15 and 21.
They currently have seven eligible players in Fraser Forster, Ben Davies, James Maddison, Brennan Johnson, Joe Rodon, Djed Spence, Ashley Phillips.
Rodon and Spence, though, are not expected to be part of the first-team squad next season after loan spells last term, while 18-year-old Phillips could go out on another development loan.
If Spurs cannot meet the criteria for locally-trained players, they would have to promote an under-21 player to their European ‘A-list’, which would potentially mean leaving out a senior overseas star.
One option available to the club is to replace Austin, Whiteman, Skipp or Parrott with a former academy player.
They have kept tabs on Marcus Edwards, currently at Sporting Lisbon, and Kyle Walker-Peters, who is now playing for Southampton.
Ange Postecoglou, the Spurs head coach, has dismissed concerns over Spurs’ club-trained contingent.
Asked about the issue specifically in relation to Skipp’s future in April, Postecoglou said: “We're quite comfortable in that situation."
The Australian has since said Skipp, 23, has a future at Spurs.
“He probably feels like he could have played more this year…but yeah, I see Skippy as part of our future,” he said last month.
