Jamie Donley is an 18-year-old English forward who typically plays for Tottenham’s under-21s. He made his debut for then first team last weekend against Man City, replacing Brennan Johnson towards the end of injury time. Although he only played a couple of minutes, he could be a great prospect for the future based on his stats for the youth side.
The left-footed striker started off playing at a very young age for Colchester Villa before leaving them at the age of eight to join Spurs. He joined Spurs in 2013 and this year signed a new contract which will run until 2027. He became a professional for the club in 2022.
So far, Donley has scored 26 goals and got 10 assists for Tottenham’s under-18s. For the under-21s he has scored or assisted in most of his appearances so far this season. He was shortlisted for the Premier League 2 player of the month in August starting off his 2023/24 season positively, before winning the award again in October.
The fact he is so young and already has a great record means he is a player to keep an eye on. With the amount of injuries Tottenham’s first team currently have, it may give the youngsters more opportunities to get minutes in the Premier League. He had a couple against City last weekend and although he didn’t get any game time against West Ham, he was available on the bench.
His main goal is obviously to play in the Premier League regularly but due to being so young he won’t get that yet. He needs to carry on working hard for the u21s as well as coming on for the first team when needed to prove his ability to Ange Postecoglou, the rest of the team and the fans.
He will certainly be a great player in the Premier League in a few years, with his goal record, work ethic and loyalty to the club. He could have a very promising future.
Once Tottenham’s currently injured players are back as well as the club potentially signing new players in January, it will be less likely he will get time for the first team. He is too young and inexperienced currently compared to other first team players however, his time will come.
It is said that a couple of League One clubs, including Charlton and Leyton Orient, could be interested in the young striker, however, nothing is set in stone about his future yet. It would be nice for him to stay at Spurs due to him being homegrown and a childhood Tottenham fan, on the other hand, it could be argued he’d get more game time for the first team in lower league clubs which he may prefer.
Tottenham’s manager, Ange Postecoglou, is keen to see more of Donley but he doesn’t want to rush the youngster into the team. Although he is clearly a great player, putting too much pressure on him could negatively impact the forward and set him back. Postecoglou believes he could be a star player however says that he will only get a decent amount of game time when he thinks Donley is one hundred percent ready.
Next up for Tottenham is Newcastle at home, where it would be nice to see Donley get some game time, even if it’s just towards the end of the game. With the squad still being depleted, it is likely that he will be available on the bench and will hope to come on and help the team if needed. Â