"The Telegraph" wrote an article, talking about the comparison between Arsenal and Tottenham's youth training. Arsenal has emerged in recent years with young talents such as Saka and Skelly, while Tottenham's youth training has performed poorly in comparison.
Kane scored 14 goals in the North London Derby. Although Tottenham fans regarded him as a local hero, after he moved to Bayern, it was the Arsenal stands who sang "He is one of our own".
Youth players such as Saka, Skelly and Nwaneri have injected vitality into Arteta's tactical revolution. These players have played more than 30 games. The latest 15-year-old star Dauman has attracted much attention. Looking at Tottenham, since Kane and Andros Townsend made their league debut in 2012, only three youth training players have played 30 or more league games.
Ryan Mason has made a total of 53 appearances since his debut in 2014. Harry Winks and Oliver Skipp, currently playing for Leicester City, made a combined 205 league appearances during their time at Tottenham. Tanganga has 27 league appearances, Kyle Walker Peters has 12, and Marcus Edwards, once hailed as the "new Messi", has never even made a league appearance for Tottenham.
The Hotspur Road training base, which cost 45 million pounds and was put into use in 2012, has not yet been able to equate to the star players it has trained. According to CIES data, Tottenham gave only 1.3% of the playing time to local youth players last season, ranking fifth from the bottom in the Premier League. As of this weekend, four clubs including Tottenham and Burnley are still the teams that have not given local youth training players any league playing time this season. In comparison, Arsenal's local players' playing time ratio ranked sixth in the league last season and this season.
It is revealed that this has always been a concern of former Tottenham chairman Levy, which has caused great distress to those who work with him. An insider said: "Levi once believed that as long as the youth training facilities are built, talented players will automatically emerge. However, Tottenham's scouting system lags behind its opponents and there is insufficient financial investment." The successive coaching of Mourinho, Nuno and Conte has set back the youth training work for several years. Their task is always to win in the short term.
Mourinho once promoted Dane Scarlet to show his reuse of newcomers, but the latter has only won 8 league appearances since his debut in 2021. Current coach Thomas Frank said frankly: "The current competition is fierce and it is difficult to give Scarlet continuous playing opportunities." Since the Pochettino era, Tottenham has lacked long-term planning, and the departure of former youth training manager John McDermott was a heavy blow.
Troy Parrott, who had high hopes, only made 2 appearances and moved to Alkmaar permanently this summer. He said frankly: "Leaving England allowed me to rediscover the feeling of being needed." Maduekai, who joined Arsenal from Chelsea this summer, was also a member of Tottenham's U18 team. He joined the team at the age of 15 and switched to Eindhoven one year later.
Although the current youth training director Simon Davis has received praise, experts point out that the success or failure of youth training depends on the top-level design: if the stubborn problem of frequent coaching changes is not eliminated, the system will hardly be successful. Arteta is not only deeply involved in the youth training and has a stable coaching position, but Frank faced pressure from fans soon after taking over Tottenham, making it difficult to give newcomers sufficient opportunities.
Mikey Moore, who is currently on loan to the Rangers, is the hope of Tottenham's youth training. He played 10 times for the first team last season. His agent Marlon Fleischman said: "Mikey needs to continue playing time, just like the growth trajectory of Kane and Townsend." Fleischman also represents Nwaneri, who has played 33 times for Arsenal. He pointed out that the Gunners' advantage lies in "stability and collective vision."
In addition to Moore, 17-year-old Luka Williams Barnett also has high hopes and has made his first team debut. Insiders said frankly: "If he was in the Arsenal system, he might have gotten 7-8 playing opportunities." Kane will always be a symbol of Tottenham, but the club urgently needs a new local hero to regain balance in the struggle in North London.