Alasdair Gold has suggested that the reason Tottenham have not loaned out Alfie Devine could be to do with the UEFA regulations regarding when players qualify as club-trained homegrown players.
Devine arrived at Tottenham’s academy from Wigan back in 2020 as a highly-rated young player and he has continued developing impressively in North London over the last two and a half years.
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The 18-year-old was arguably Spurs’ standout player in Premier League 2 last season, scoring nine goals and providing three assists in 17 appearances (Transfermarkt).
Devine was out with a hamstring injury at the start of the 2022-23 season but since returning to action at the end of September he has featured regularly in Premier League 2 and the UEFA Youth League over the past few months.
Football Insider reported back in November that Spurs had given the green light for the attacking midfielder to join an EFL club in January, and asserted that the youngster was talking to multiple clubs.
However, with just hours left until the transfer window shuts, it now looks unlikely that the teenager will leave on loan.
Gold explained that it might be because Devine would qualify as a club-trained homegrown player for Spurs if he stayed until the end of the season and can thus be named on the B-list in European competitions.
When asked about why the midfielder had not been loaned out, the journalist responded in a Q&A on Football.London: “There are two sides to this. The first is that the player is ready for a loan deal and I’m sure it would be great for his development. Spurs will look at offers that come in.
“The other aspect is that, if I remember correctly, if he sees out the remaining four months of this season at Tottenham he would reach the amount of time to become a club-trained homegrown player for the European squad from next season. It’s a tough call to make.”
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Devine is still only 18 years of age and Tottenham would not be in a hurry to loan him out to the lower leagues just yet. Perhaps, Conte and the coaching staff have decided that the youngster will benefit from training with the first team at Spurs for a few more months before potentially being loaned out to a League One club next season.
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