Tottenham permanent exit on the cards for Alfie Devine, decision ‘up to him’
Tottenham youngster Alfie Devine may be facing a make-or-break summer in North London, despite impressing during his loan spell with Plymouth Argyle, according to Alan Hutton.
The 19-year-old had an excellent first half of the season on loan with Port Vale in League One, where he made 23 appearances and managed to score three goals, before making the temporary switch to Home Park for the remainder of the campaign.
Devine has made six appearances for Argyle this season, laying on two assits for his teammates and the young midfielder’s displays in the Championship have earned him plenty of plaudits from both supporters and pundits.
While Hutton expects Ange Postecoglou to take another look at the teenager at the end of the campaign, he thinks Devine will have to impress the Spurs boss in Tottenham’s pre-season fixtures to avoid being moved on in the summer.
“I think going away and doing well is the main aim,” Hutton told Tottenham News.
“To get yourself out in the shop window, to show your parent club that you’re more than capable. He’s doing well at the moment so he’ll be in his [Postecoglou’s] thoughts.
“I always think that whenever a player goes away, especially when they’re younger for that level of experience when they come back they’ll always be away with the first-team for pre-season.
“The manager will have kept tabs on them and will think ‘let’s look and see what he does in this environment moving forward’, then they’ll make their decision.
“It’s up to him after that, can he take this opportunity in the games in pre-season to go and show him that he’s capable? If not they’ll move him on or send him out on loan again.”
Will Tottenham keep Alfie Devine or look for summer transfer exit?
Postecoglou is blessed with plenty of midfield and attacking depth already in North London and the excellent performances of the likes of James Maddison and Pape Sarr in the middle of the park makes it very hard for young players to break through.
However, Devine’s performances whilst on loan this season have shown that he is more than capable of cutting it at a senior level. While those displays have come in the Championship and League One, it is a huge step in the right direction.
As Hutton suggested, it is now down to the teenager to show Postecoglou that he is worth his place in the first-team squad in pre-season, otherwise, Tottenham may take the chance to cash in one of their more exciting assets.
In other Tottenham news, Hutton has blasted Spurs over a habit that could cost them Champions League football next season
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