Thomas Frank to hand senior debut to ‘outstanding’ Tottenham starlet vs Doncaster Rovers
Tottenham get their Carabao Cup campaign underway on Wednesday night when they welcome Doncaster Rovers to N17.
The South Yorkshire outfit have had a bright start to the season in League One, and will be hopeful of springing an upset on their Premier League hosts.
Tottenham battled back well to draw with Brighton on Saturday, and it is expected that the cup clash will be used to predominantly hand minutes to squad players and young talents.
Thomas Frank’s team could look very different from what we have come to expect on Wednesday, but that could mean it becomes a very special evening for one particular rising star.
This article includes exclusive comments from Lilywhite Rose owner John Wenham.
Luca Williams-Barnett set to make senior Tottenham debut vs Doncaster
Luca Williams-Barnett is one of the brightest prospects at Tottenham and is already starring in Premier League 2 at the age of 16.
The attacking midfielder notched a goal and an assist in his Spurs U19s’ victory over Villarreal in the UEFA Youth League last week, and followed that up with a hat-trick against Leicester on Friday.
He is continuing to build a reputation as one of the Lilywhites’ brightest academy talents at the moment, and that will surely see him come onto Frank’s first-team radar in the near future.
| Season | League | Games | Goals | Assists |
| 2025/26 | Premier League 2 | 4 | 4 | 2 |
| 2024/25 | U18 Premier League | 20 | 19 | 8 |
Lilywhite Rose owner John Wenham – speaking exclusively to Tottenham News – believes that Williams-Barnett will make his senior debut in the cup clash with Doncaster on Wednesday.
“He was outstanding in the Youth Champions League,” Wenham said.
“When you’ve got the opportunity to watch him in person and see how he picks up the ball in the midfield and drives past two or three players in a single move, it’s special. You can see straight away that he’s an outstanding player.
“He scored one of the goals, was heavily involved in an own goal before then and got an assist as well. So it was just a 10/10 performance from him. I do expect he will make his debut against Doncaster Rovers, coming from the bench.”
Luca Williams-Barnett is deserving of first-team chance
Williams-Barnett has been earmarked for big things at Tottenham for a long time now, and despite his tender age, this could be the perfect opportunity to throw him in for his debut.
The youngster has already come up against senior men’s opportunity in the Vertu Trophy this season, and notched a goal and an assist as Spurs’ academy side were beaten on penalties by Bristol Rovers.
He has produced scarcely believable numbers in youth football in the last few months, and he is certainly ready to be thrown in at the deep end.
By handing his debut against Doncaster, Frank would also be able to alleviate some of the pressure that would have come had he started him in a Premier League game instead.
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