At a glance:
- Tottenham are going through an injury crisis
- It has also affected their academy
- Jun’ai Byfield is out for the season
Tottenham Hotspur have faced another major injury crisis season, with many of their top players being out for months.
Spurs have had three ACL injuries this season to James Maddison, Wilson Odobert, and Xavi Simons. Dejan Kulusevski has yet to play a game this campaign, while the likes of Cristian Romero, Ben Davies, and Mohammed Kudus are also out for the season.
Rodrigo Bentancur, Lucas Bergvall, Destiny Udogie, and even Pedro Porro are among the players to have suffered injuries this season. This led to Tottenham dropping down to the relegation zone, although they have managed to come out of it recently.
Tottenham’s academy stars are also out injured
Often, when a team has many injuries, it leads to playing time for their academy stars. However, Spurs have been unable to count on them either, as some of their academy players have been injured as well.
The likes of Mikey Moore, Will Lankshear, and George Abbott were out on loan this season.
Meanwhile, Jun’ai Byfield and Luca Williams-Barnett made their first-team debuts. However, the duo has been out injured for weeks now, and there is finally an update on them.
An X user named Gary Ward shared pictures of himself with Byfield and Williams-Barnett on Friday, May 8. He stated that he met the duo and asked them about their injuries.
In terrible news, Byfield confirmed that he is out for the remainder of the season. He last appeared in a Tottenham squad in February this year and has been out since. He made his Premier League and Champions League debuts this season.
After his Champions League debut, Kevin Danso and Thomas Frank heaped praise on Byfield, claiming that the senior players rate him highly (h/t Football.London).
Also Read: 5 Tottenham academy players who could play in remaining four games
On the other hand, Williams-Barnett confirmed that he would have been back had the Spurs U21 reached the PL2 Cup final.
However, they failed to do so, finishing eighth in the league standings. The 17-year-old, meanwhile, has been out of action since February as well.
Tottenham need more academy integration from next season
While they have struggled to get playing time this season, Tottenham’s academy players will hope for better integration in the next campaign.
The likes of Moore and Lankshear could return and prove to be excellent under an attacking manager like Roberto De Zerbi.
Moreover, with the likes of Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, and Radu Dragusin being linked with transfers, Byfield could also potentially hope for more minutes with the first team.
Callum Olusesi also featured in a few games this season and hopes to do it next season as well.
Also Read: ‘Special’ Tottenham youngster promoted to first-team ahead of crucial Aston Villa clash
Since Harry Kane, Tottenham are searching for academy players who can make a big impact at the club. However, it would only be possible if they could get regular chances in the first team.
With so many senior players displaying underwhelming performances, giving chances to academy players will also be well received by the Spurs supporters.
