Tottenham youngster Dane Scarlett is starting to find his feet on loan at Oxford United
Tottenham Hotspur boasts of a plethora of young talents. Daniel Levy and Co. looks to have created a pipeline from the academy to Ange Postecoglou’s first-team squad in the long term.
We have seen academy starlets such as Mikey Moore and Will Lankshear get some minutes under their belt for the first team of late. This shows that Ange Postecoglou is not hesitant to give the youngsters opportunities to impress in the senior squad.
Apart from offloading deadwood in the summer, Spurs also decided to loan out a few of their promising academy kids. One of those academy kids that went out on loan was Dane Scarlett.
Dane Scarlett was highly regarded when he came into the picture at the Hotspur Way. The striker was loaned out to Oxford United and initially, he struggled for minutes. There were concerns within the north London club over his lack of playing time at Oxford United.
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The EFL Championship club are heavily stacked with multiple attacking players that limited opportunities coming Scarlett’s way. However, the Spurs academy striker seems to have turned a corner around in his Oxford United loan spell of late.
The 20-year-old made his first Championship start of the season earlier this week, opening the scoring as Oxford United drew 1-1 with Derby County at the Kassam Stadium. That followed Scarlett’s late equaliser—a fantastic header—off the bench in a 1-1 draw with West Brom at the Kassam Stadium last weekend in the Championship.
John Wenham—the owner of the famous Spurs podcast Lilywhite Rose has praised Scarlett, who made an impact for the England under-21 by scoring during the October international break. He hopes the Spurs young gun can continue to get more minutes at Oxford and develop.
“England love him, they absolutely love him,” Wenham said exclusively to Tottenham News.
“He was captain of the Under-20s and was then called up to the Under-21s, where he scored straightaway.
“I’m pleased by his recent form, it is good for his confidence and keeps him going. He scored an amazing header against West Brom, which gave him the confidence to start in the next game and score again.
“I just want him to be out there playing football because he knows where the back of the net is.
“He continues to prove that every time he plays for England and now Oxford United.”
It is amazing how quickly things change in football. Ahead of Oxford’s 1-1 draw with West Brom, Spurs may have been contemplating about the need to recall Scarlett due to his lack of playing time.
However, things have changed for good as after his goal off the bench against West Brom, the striker was handed an opportunity to start against Derby and he repaid the manager’s faith with a goal.
With goals in back-to-back games, Scarlett is brimming with confidence now and will want to start more games for Oxford. Having come through a difficult first few months, the England under-21 international will look to enjoy a good season and return to Spurs as a much more mature and experienced player.