Chadder View: Tottenham should welcome Alfie Devine into the first-team fold as early as next season
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…
It seems like forever ago that Alfie Devine became the youngest goalscorer in Tottenham history.
On a cold Sunday afternoon in January of 2021, Spurs travelled to non-league Marine for a third-round FA Cup tie.
Just the 160 places separated the two sides in the English football pyramid, and most of the narrative was around global footballing superstar Gareth Bale sitting on a makeshift bench which practically backed onto someone’s garden.
Carlos Vinicius, now of Fulham, was still trying to make his name in a Spurs shirt as Harry Kane’s, now of Bayern Munich, understudy. Dele Alli lined up for the north London side while Joe Hart was between the sticks, two more players of the past.
In fact, just one player from the starting lineup that day currently remains in Ange Postecoglou’s squad, Wales international Ben Davies – that is how long ago this match took place.
Almost three years to be exact, three years since a 16-year-old Devine stepped off the bench in that contest and became Spurs’ youngest-ever competitive goalscorer – a title which he still proudly holds while he continues to develop out on loan with EFL League One side Port Vale.
It was at that point the club knew they had a real talent on their hands, and despite how long ago that match feels, that real talent is still just 19 years old and destined to become a superstar in the English game.
In some ways, I am glad he has not been thrown in at the deep end in north London despite his incredible potential. His development is being handled in the right way, and his loan spell with Port Vale is exactly what he needed, a chance to play a full season of senior men’s football.
On the other hand, I really hope he is thrown in at the deep end next season because what we are seeing at Port Vale is a player who is ready to explode with the right platform.
During one of his first appearances for the club, he came off the bench with his side 1-0 down away at Oxford United, assisted the equaliser, and then scored a last-minute winning penalty – that is not an ordinary afternoon for a young player out on loan, but then again, Devine is certainly not an ordinary player.
He proved this once again by scoring the only goal in Port Vale’s 1-0 win over Mansfield Town, a win which has taken Vale to their first-ever Carabao Cup quarter-final.
Yes, there will certainly be dips along the way, but these flashes of brilliance demonstrate the quality of player Tottenham have on their hands.
Some supporters might suggest he could benefit from another loan spell next year, but I disagree. Devine will be 20 at the start of next season, just one year younger than someone like Cole Palmer is now, and he is already playing and scoring in the big games for a struggling Chelsea.
There is no reason Devine won’t be ready, sometimes all these players need is the chance, and with a likely return to some form of European competition next season, there will be enough games to go around.
Now is the time for Devine to finally kick on and fulfil that potential he first showed a glimpse of all those years ago during that second half at Marine.
In other Tottenham news, a BBC pundit has shared what he is worried about at Spurs after the club’s thrilling 3-3 draw with Manchester City.