Jamie Donley in action for Northern Ireland, Tottenham boss Roberto De Zerbi in inset.

Credit: Imago

Jamie Donley has perfect Tottenham opportunity to seize with Roberto De Zerbi wowed

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Published on:

21 Jul 2026, 7:10 am

Jamie Donley will be itching to prove he can play a part in Tottenham Hotspur's first team this season.

The 21-year-old has been with Spurs' youth academy since 2013, and has risen through the youth groups.

Donley has already made four first-team appearances for Tottenham, all of them coming in the 2023-24 season.

Since then, the Northern Ireland international has spent time on loan at Leyton Orient, Stoke City, and Oxford United.

Roberto De Zerbi wanted to have a look at Donley during pre-season training for the 2026/27 campaign.

And the Italian could be about to hand Donley the absolute perfect chance to seize his opportunity for the coming season.

What's the latest with Jamie Donley in pre-season at Tottenham?

Tottenham News previously covered how Tottenham expert John Wenham tipped Donley to impress in pre-season.

Seemingly, Donley has done just that during the early stages of pre-season under De Zerbi.

Football London reporter Alasdair Gold provided an update on his official X account that suggests he will get more opportunities to impress.

Gold wrote how Donley has indeed impressed De Zerbi in pre-season thus far.

He added that Donley now has a great chance of being part of the travelling party for Spurs' pre-season tour to New Zealand and Australia later this week.

Some good Spurs academy player news at last today. Understand Jamie Donley has impressed Roberto De Zerbi so far in pre-season and is in with a good chance of going on the tour to New Zealand and Australia later this week.
— Alasdair Gold (@AlasdairGold) July 20, 2026

It is an opportunity that Donley must be ready to seize with both hands in what could be a huge summer for his future.

Jamie Donley shows he's not ready for Tottenham with Northern Ireland scenes

Tottenham's World Cup contingent could offer Donley opportunity

Spurs had 10 players involved at the World Cup, which same to an end on Sunday as Spain defeated Argentina 1-0 in the final.

Pedro Porro returns to Spurs as a world champion, while Romero and Marcos Senesi played in the showpiece fixture.

Djed Spence was also involved as England defeated France in the bronze medal match.

Kevin Danso, Luka Vuskovic, Pape Matar Sarr, Lucas Bergvall, Micky van de Ven, Rodrigo Bentancur, Andy Robertson and Jan Paul van Hecke were all involved at the World Cup.

Vuskovic has now left for Brighton, but all players are allowed three weeks of rest after a World Cup to recover.

With Spurs set to be without such a big contigent of players, Donley may have a perfect chance to catch the eye, grab some minutes, and show De Zerbi that he can have an impact in the upcoming campaign.

Jamie Donley

Tottenham Hotspur Football Club

Roberto De Zerbi

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