Tottenham’s youngsters have won the Premier League 2 title for 2023/24 on home soil, suggesting the future is very bright indeed for Spurs.
The club’s under-21 side defeated Sunderland 3-1 in Sunday’s entertaining Premier League 2 play-off final at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Wayne Burnett’s talented young team got a brace from 19-year-old forward Will Lankshear, with captain and midfielder George Abbott also on target in second-half stoppage time before Ukrainian striker Timur Tuterov added an even later consolation for Graeme Murty’s Black Cats, who twice hit the woodwork through Tommy Watson and Harrison Jones.
Some of Tottenham’s victorious team will now hope such an achievement helps them push their way into the first-team reckoning under head coach Ange Postecoglou next season.
TROPHY LIFT! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/LWEqIfAEr6
— Tottenham Hotspur Academy (@Spurs_Academy) May 26, 2024
The likes of Jamie Donley and Mikey Moore both made fleeting senior appearances during the 2023/24 campaign, with Donley starting for the U21s on Sunday but Moore currently away with England at the Under-17 European Championship in Cyprus, where he has already scored three goals in two group games against France and Portugal.
Abbott was among the Spurs youngsters selected by Postecoglou to travel to the manager’s native Australia last week for their post-season friendly against Premier League rivals Newcastle in Melbourne, joining Leo Black, Alfie Devine, Donley, Tyrese Hall, Rio Kyerematen and Yago Santiago in making the journey alongside the club’s established stars.
All of those players came off the bench for valuable first-team experience as Tottenham drew 1-1 after first-half goals from James Maddison and Alexander Isak, with Postecoglou’s side eventually going down 5-4 on penalties after Bryan Gil’s spot-kick was crucially saved by Mark Gillespie.
