Jamie Donley takes aim at Tottenham and Roberto De Zerbi after being 'pushed away'

Jamie Donley believes Tottenham Hotspur "don't really give you a pathway" as a young player.

The 21-year-old joined Tottenham in 2013 at the age of eight, and has been with them ever since.

It wouldn't be until January 2022 when he penned his first professional contract with Spurs.

Since then, he's only ever made six competitive first-team appearances for the Lilywhites.

Now at the stage of his career where he needs to be playing regular football, questions marks exist over his N17 future.

However, in some interesting and revealing comments, the Northern Ireland international doesn't seem ready to give up on Spurs just yet.

What does Roberto De Zerbi think about Jamie Donley?

During his time at Tottenham, Donley has consistently been rated as one of Hotspur Way's most exciting young talents.

His superb loan spell with Leyton Orient in 2024-25 looked set to hand him a big first-team opportunity back at Spurs.

That didn't arrive though, and further loan moves have been commissioned for him since then.

As quoted via Tottenham YouTuber and podcast host Chris Cowlin via X, Donley appears to be slightly frustrated with his lack of Spurs chances.

“When I came in for pre-season I spoke to (Roberto De Zerbi) a little bit and he said that he liked me, and I went out to Australia and played quite a lot," he said.

"Then a few of the lads came back from the World Cup and so then I was kind of pushed away a little bit.

"Towards the end of the window, I had a clear idea of what I was going to be doing. It’s difficult because there’s so many players and they’re signing £100million players.

"I’m not arrogant enough to think I’m going to be playing over them. They don’t really give you a pathway.

"It’s about getting minutes. I’m still young so it’s about doing well and going back next year and showing progress."

So, is Donley currently out there doing well away from Tottenham, or is he currently destined for further Spurs frustration when he returns?

Donley is making good early impression at Luton Town

In the final days of August, Donley completed a season-long loan move to League One side Luton Town.

Managed by former Arsenal star Jack Wilshere, Donley has appeared in five of the Hatters' league games this term, starting four of them.

He's already been able to grab a goal and an assist too, and his underlying numbers paint an encouraging picture for the rest of his time there.

Per FotMob, he's in the top 11.7 per cent of all attacking midfielders in League One this season for his 3.15 shots per game.

Meanwhile, he's also completed 60 per cent of his dribbles successfully, won 1.26 aerial duels and taken 4.72 touches in the opposition box per 90.

Donley has also been prolific at winning the ball high up the pitch, making 0.94 possessions won in the final third per game.

He's also well above average at his position per 90 for chances created (1.57), successful crosses (0.63) and duels won (48.1 per cent).

Donley is doing well at Luton, but it still might not be good enough to finally open up a path to Tottenham's first-team.