The present may remain rather turbulent at Tottenham Hotspur, but it’s fair to say that the future certainly looks bright.
Amid the experience of the likes of Heung-min Son and Cristian Romero, the Lilywhites also boast an exciting crop of young talent in the form of Destiny Udogie, Pape Matar Sarr and Radu Dragusin – all of whom are under the age of 22.
Beyond that still, Ange Postecoglou’s ranks were also bolstered this summer by the arrival of a teenage trio in Lucas Bergvall, Archie Gray and Wilson Odobert, with all three of those youngsters having made an early impression in the Spurs first-team in recent months.
That said, despite splashing out millions on the names mentioned above – including the £30m on Gray – it is homegrown product, Mikey Moore, who is gaining much of the attention at present. And rightly so.
Mikey Moore's season so far
As far as Tottenham’s academy production line is concerned, aside from the rise of club-record goalscorer, Harry Kane, the great success over the last decade or so appears to have come from churning out safe and steady central midfielders, with the likes of Ryan Mason, Harry Winks and Oliver Skipp all springing to mind.
Not since Kane, in truth, has a youth star truly caught the imagination of those in north London, although that could be set to change if Moore’s early showings are anything to go by, with the 17-year-old having swiftly forced his way into Postecoglou’s senior set-up.
Five first-team appearances have already come his way this season, with the England youth international notably shining on his first start away to Ferencvaros in the Europa League last week.
In his 90 minutes on the field, the teenager certainly looked to make an impression, even if everything didn’t go his way, having attempted seven dribbles and registered one key pass, all while enjoying an 80% pass accuracy, as per Sofascore.
Had it not been for some typically wasteful finishing from Timo Werner, Moore could well have walked away with an assist to show for his encouraging display, with more chances to impress likely to follow.
A superstar in the making, the exciting winger is certainly one to watch. As too is a potentially even bigger talent who is currently shining away from N17…
Spurs could soon have a bigger talent than Moore
There is no desire to take anything away from young Moore – he possesses real potential and, to his credit, has already begun to make an impact off the bench in the Premier League, no less.
And yet, fellow teenager, Luka Vuskovic – who is also just 17 – has made an even bigger impression at first-team level in recent times, with Spurs no doubt counting down the days until the Croatian sensation finally joins the club next summer.
In The Pipeline
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Signed from Hajduk Split last September on a £12m deal with a view to joining the Lilywhites in 2025, the 6 foot 5 titan subsequently joined Radomiak on loan for the second half of last season, going on to score three goals in just 14 appearances for the Croatian side.
Another temporary departure was sanctioned over the summer, with Vuskovic having moved to the Belgian Pro League to join KVC Westerlo for the 2024/25 campaign.
Much like the first half of 2024 in his homeland, the defender has again been something of an attacking menace in his new surroundings, remarkably chipping in with four goals and one assist in just ten games so far this term, including a brace against Beerschot last time out.
Likened to Barcelona and Spain legend, Gerard Pique, by talent scout Jacek Kulig, the towering asset appears to possess sky-high potential, having been hailed as a “freak athlete” and a “freak talent” by data analyst, Ben Mattinson.
Those in the game are also beginning to sit up and take notice, with Vuskovic’s compatriot, Josko Gvardiol, tipping him to become “one of the best” in his position, in the years to come.
Stat (*per game)
Vuskovic
Van de Ven
Romero
Games (starts)
10 (10)
6 (6)
7 (7)
Goals
4
0
1
Assists
1
2
0
Pass accuracy
82%
94%
92%
Tackles*
0.9
0.7
2.0
Interceptions*
0.9
1.0
1.0
Balls recovered*
4.1
5.5
6.3
Total duels won*
68%
49%
59%
Aerial duels won*
83%
52%
57%
Possession lost*
8.8x
6.3x
8.0x
Of course, thriving in Croatia and Belgium is a different kettle of fish compared to trying to succeed in the Premier League, yet it is hard to ignore the impact that he is making at present.Like with any youngster, there must be a sense of caution, but in truth, Vuskovic neither looks nor plays like a 17-year-old making early strides in first-team football.
Daniel Levy and co surely can’t wait to welcome him to north London with open arms next year. On the evidence of the defensive display away at the Amex last weekend, his arrival can’t come soon enough.
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