Matthew Chadder

Sat 15 July 2023 14:27, UK

Tottenham have jetted off to Australia for the first leg of their pre-season tour and taken a few youngsters along for the ride.

Ange Postecoglou will get set to take charge of his first game as Spurs manager this Tuesday in his home country, with his side taking on bitter rivals West Ham in Perth.

Australia is the first country the club will visit during their pre-season tour with trips to Thailand and Singapore to follow.

The first leg will be a special one for Postecoglou and he will likely be greeted with a hero’s welcome as he returns to his native country as the first-ever Australian Premier League manager.

Although it is not just Postecoglou who this trip will mean a lot too. The former Celtic boss has brought along a few talented young prospects who will be looking to make their mark while away with the club.

Pre-season is a great opportunity for fringe and academy players to force themselves into first-team discussions and Alfie Devine and Josh Keeley, who travelled with the 31-man squad, will both be looking to do exactly that.

Devine has already previously made an impact at first-team level. On 10 January 2021, the midfielder became the youngest player in Spurs’ history when he came on as a second-half substitute in a 5-0 FA Cup win over Marine.

Not only did the talented youngster become the club’s youngest-ever player, but he would grab a goal while on the pitch to also become the club’s youngest-ever goalscorer.

Since this goal he has been a consistent feature of Spurs’ Under-21 side, playing 17 times in Premier League Two during the 2021/22 season, scoring nine times, and 17 times again during the 2022/23 season, scoring twice.

Now, with his 19th birthday just around the corner, and with the arrival of a manager who likes to give young talent a chance to develop, Devine will feel it is time to make the step up and begin to fulfil his potential.

Meanwhile, goalkeeper Keeley has also been named in the travelling squad. The 20-year-old was a consistent feature between the sticks for Spurs’ Under-21 side last season, playing 19 times in Premier League Two.

With Hugo Lloris likely to depart and new signing Guglielmo Vicario expected to take the number one spot, that will give goalkeepers further down the pecking order at the club a chance to move up in the rankings.

Of course, Fraser Forster will be the likely number two, however with his advancing age he won’t be around long and Daniel Levy might not want to splash the cash on another goalkeeper. The club could therefore look to promote from within and begin to prepare a young talent to take the number two spot when Forster is no longer around.

This could very well be Keeley, and he will be looking to make an impression while away with the squad if he is offered any minutes.

In other Tottenham news, another young talent has signed her first professional deal with the Tottenham Women’s team.