This article is part of Football FanCast’s In The Pipeline series, which takes a look at some of the most promising young talent either linked with clubs or emerging from their academies…
Tottenham Hotspur have a number of youngsters waiting to make their first-team breakthrough.
New manager Jose Mourinho has talked up his willingness to involve young players and considering the mess the senior squad have got the club into this season, now laying 14th in the table and sacking the man who took them to last term’s Champions League final, perhaps new blood is indeed needed to refresh a stagnating team.
Football FanCast, as a result, has taken a look at three midfielders who could well find themselves playing a role in the Mourinho revolution.
Oliver Skipp
This one still counts.
Skipp has not had a regular run in the Spurs first-team but was clearly highly-rated by Pochettino, who has routinely included him in his matchday squads.
He made his Champions League debut earlier this season, coming on as a substitute against Olympiacos, and already has 16 games under his belt at senior level.
However, he has made just five starts and one feels that the combative midfielder simply needs a run of games to show what he can do – especially considering Moussa Sissoko, Harry Winks, Eric Dier, Tanguy Ndombele and Victor Wanyama are all competing for the deep-lying slots in the engine room.
Thus far, however, he has shown that he could be a genuine option at senior level.
Tashan Oakley-Boothe
Another central midfielder, Oakley-Boothe made his Spurs debut in the 2017/18 season, playing a single minute in a Carabao Cup victory over Barnsley.
Since then, he has become a fixture for the club’s U23 side at the age of 19, and has been capped at U16, U17 and U18 level by England. He won the World Cup with the U17s.
A right-footed player who gets stuck in, Oakley-Boothe’s experience at youth level – and Spurs’ current plight – suggests he’s ready to be tested within the first team ranks.
Armando Shashoua
Shashoua is just 19 but he is a versatile option and is currently playing with Spurs’ U23 side.
Capable of playing anywhere in midfield and also on the flanks, the teenager made 40 appearances for the U18s, scoring eight goals and registering 12 assists.
He has already scored three times at a higher level with the U23s, while also registering one assist, and is an interesting prospect.
It remains to be seen which position will end up being his favourite but he has even impressed against senior opposition, scoring in the EFL Trophy defeat against Ipswich Town.
He has shown an eye for goal that may appeal to Mourinho, although senior football at this juncture would be a pretty almighty step.