Dane Scarlett decided to join Championship side Oxford United on a season-long loan in August
Tottenham Hotspur have an extremely talented pool of young guns and academy products that Ange Postecoglou wants to nurture by giving opportunities.
The Greek-Australian tactician has trusted the youngsters and given them opportunities to express themselves since taking over the club’s reins last year. And it has been mirrored through the club’s transfer policy and vision as well since the summer of 2023, with prodigious talents such as Lucas Bergvall, Archie Gray, Wilson Odobert and Min Hyeok-yang all deciding to become a part of Ange Postecoglou’s revolution.
Big Ange is very well aware which youngsters are capable of making an immediate impression in the first team and which could do well with a loan. Thus, he sanctioned loan moves for quite a few academy talents and youngsters in the past summer transfer window. One of those was Dane Scarlett.
Dane Scarlett joined newly-promoted Championship side Oxford United on a season-long loan in August. The Spurs academy kid spent the first half of last season on loan at Ipswich Town in the Championship, failing to score in 12 substitute appearances. He was recalled on loan from Ipswich in December itself.
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The 20-year-old, who was involved in Spurs’ pre-season tour of Asia, has failed to make the desired impact at Oxford United. He has only mustered just one minute of Championship action thus far and has been an unused substitute in Oxford’s last two games. Scarlett showed his quality for England’s Elite League Squad during the international break, captaining the side to a 2-0 win over Romania.
Ex-England goalkeeper Paul Robinson feels that his old club will be forced to recall Scarlett from his Oxford loan in January if he fails to break into Des Buckingham’s first XI.
“He needs to get in the side between now and January. That’s generally how long loans are given before the deal is cancelled and the player is returned to his parent club, going back out on loan elsewhere,” Paul Robinson exclusively told Tottenham News.
“The manager and the club obviously feel this is the best way forward for him to develop, but there is no point sending a player of his age and quality somewhere if he isn’t going to play.
“It’s up to him to get into the side, prove himself, and give Spurs a problem. He wants to give Tottenham a good problem, rather than him not playing and the club not knowing what to do with him.”
Scarlett has had a difficult couple of seasons since impressing for Portsmouth in League One during the 2022/23 season. The young Englishman, who has 17 first-team appearances for Spurs under his belt, will be raring to break into the Championship side’s starting XI after a tough start to his loan spell.
The ongoing season is actually a crucial one for the Tottenham academy product, who will have to prove himself at Oxford, particularly with Mikey Moore and Will Lankshear ahead of him in the pecking order under Big Ange. As Robinson says, Scarlett must start impressing at the Championship side or risk being called back in January.