Chadder View: Tottenham must look to secure January loan moves for U21 stars Jude Soonsup-Bell and Jamie Donley
Matthew Chadder is a lifelong Tottenham fan who grew up just down the road from his beloved club in North London. He’s now putting his passion for Spurs into words with a daily fan view for Tottenham News…
Tottenham must be careful not to neglect the progress of their Under-21 stars during the January transfer window, particularly forwards Jamie Donley and Jude Soonsup-Bell.
January and the summer are all about first-team signings for football supporters. I completely understand that fact as a football supporter myself.
Growing up I was constantly tuned into deadline-day coverage to see if Daniel Levy would pull off any last-minute signings in north London, with the rumours of big names jetting in always exciting.
Nonetheless, as fun as it is to get carried away by the prospect of some of Europe’s finest players making the switch to line up in a Spurs shirt, the club must make sure they don’t get carried away themselves and neglect the futures of some of the lesser-known stars at their club.
All focus at Hotspur Way will be on signing a brand new central defender at this moment in time, and rightly so. Hopefully, we will get a deal wrapped up for a new central defender soon, and we can then switch our attention toward signing a new midfielder or forward, which is also much-needed right now.
However, the club’s academy, and more specifically Under-21s, are on fire right now, and Levy should be well aware of this and make sure to capitalise on their momentum.
Spurs’ Under-21s are sitting pretty at the top of Premier League 2, having won every match in the competition so far this season, and sometimes, players can become too comfortable at that particular level when things get perhaps a bit too easy for them.
That certainly looks to be the case for a few of the club’s young stars after their incredible form this season on a personal level, most notably Donley and Soonsup-Bell.
Donley has six goals and 12 assists in all competitions at club level this season and has been making an impact on the international stage for England’s youth teams.
Meanwhile, although his form hasn’t been recognised with any senior minutes yet, Soonsup-Bell has arguably been just as impressive, at least from a statistical point of view.
The 19-year-old has scored nine goals and provided five assists in all competitions this season, and could also be in line for a loan switch this month.
Both players are performing above the level they are playing at and could benefit from making the step up, something which Levy should be looking to sort out this month.
With Dane Scarlett back at the club after he was recalled from his loan at Ipswich Town, he can take on the mantle of helping Spurs’ charge to the Premier League 2 title, which opens the door for Donley and Soonsup-Bell to go out and get some minutes elsewhere.
Ange Postecoglou has already proven this season he is ready to throw Donley in, and if he and Soonsup-Bell were to head out on loan, they could return to the club in the summer as serious first-team options for Tottenham.
In other Tottenham news, one Spurs expert believes one 27-year-old will put himself in the shop window with the view to a permanent transfer, amid a recent Fabrizio Romano update.