Tottenham expert shares Damola Ajayi hope after ‘difficult’ Carabao Cup assignment
Tottenham breezed past Doncaster Rovers with a 3-0 win in the Carabao Cup last week.
The Lilywhites have made a bright start in the Premier League, and they carried that over into the domestic cup competition with a routine victory.
One of the standout moments in the game was when Luca Williams-Barnett was introduced for his senior Tottenham debut, and the youngster now looks set to pen a new contract in the aftermath.
However, it was a bizarre night for fellow academy starlet Damola Ajayi, who continued what has been a strange start to his season.
This article includes exclusive comments from Lilywhite Rose owner John Wenham.
Damola Ajayi can use performance vs Tottenham to build confidence
Tottenham loanee Damola Ajayi was left in a bizarre situation recently, as he turned out for Doncaster against his parent club in that Carabao Cup clash.
The winger played 61 minutes of the tie on the visitors’ right flank, after the Lilywhites gave permission to their League One opponents to use the starlet in the encounter.
The 19-year-old caught the eye for the South Yorkshire outfit during their pre-season campaign, but is still yet to start a game for them in league action, and has received limited minutes so far.
- Ajayi has played just 131 minutes in League One so far this term
- His only goal for Doncaster came in their 4-0 win at Middlesbrough in the Carabao Cup first round
- He has played one senior game for Spurs, scoring in the Europa League win over Elfsborg last season
However, Lilywhite Rose owner John Wenham – speaking exclusively to Tottenham News – is hoping that Ajayi can use his performance against his parent club to try and build some confidence moving forward.
“I thought Ajayi did okay,” Wenham said.
“He was obviously up against Djed Spence, which is always difficult. But I thought he did okay, and some of the Doncaster fans I spoke to afterwards said they wanted to see a bit more of him.
“He hasn’t started a league game for them yet, having been amazing in preseason, when he was scoring goals every game. So he’s had sub-involvement thus far and featured in the Cup, and he played and scored at Middlesbrough away.
“So hopefully he can get a bit of confidence from his performance and continue pushing on.”
Spurs may regret sending Damola Ajayi to Doncaster
Ajayi’s loan move would have pleased Tottenham when it was agreed, as they have been able to secure him the opportunity to go and make a name for himself in senior men’s football.
However, they may now be regretting their chocie of club to send him to, given the lack of league football that he has seen so far.
The youngster has unsurprisingly found himself below Luke Molyneux in the pecking order at Doncaster, after he completed a clean sweep of the club’s end-of-season awards, thanks to 28 league goal contributions last term.
It is unlikely that Ajayi will be able to dethrone the impressive winger, and Spurs may be inclined to re-evaluate his situation in January if nothing changes.
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