The Tottenham Hotspur academy duo have committed their immediate future to the club after signing new deals for the season ahead
Matthew Craig and Nile John have both put pen to paper on new contracts with Tottenham Hotspur, football.london understands.
Both players had been approaching the end of their contracts and there was some doubt over what would come next for the two 20-year-olds with fellow development squad player Romaine Mundle having turned down an offer from Spurs and joined Standard de Liege. However, football.london understands that Craig has now committed to a three year deal with the club and John a two-year one.Craig made his Premier League debut in May, coming on in the final day victory at Leeds United. It was just reward for the versatile Scotland U21 player, who can play as a defensive midfielder, in central defence or as a full back, after a season in which he was one of the development squad’s best players.
He started every one of the U21s’ Premier League 2 fixtures last season, making 28 appearances in all competitions at that level in total, while also playing four times in the U19 UEFA Youth League as the captain.John has been at Spurs since the age of seven and made his first team debut two years ago in the Europa League. Despite interest from elsewhere, he was conspicuous by his absence in the list of players released by the club this month, which contained fellow development squad members Jamie Bowden, Kallum Cesay, Malachi Fagan-Walcott, Roshaun Mathurin, Marqes Muir and Romaine Mundle as well as U18s Thomas Bloxham, Brandon Bryan-Waugh and Riley Owen following the conclusion of their scholarships.
Clubs across Europe had been keeping a close eye on the versatile midfielder, with football.london reporting earlier in the season that Brighton, Basel and Cercle Brugge had been among those showing interest at various points, as his contract ran towards its conclusion, while he also drew praise from the coaches of Spurs’ various opponents in the UEFA Youth League this season for his displays in the centre of the pitch.
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An offer of a new deal was tabled for John earlier in the season but recent struggles for young players to break into the first team at Tottenham have caused a few academy youngsters to rethink their futures in previous seasons. The hope at the club is that under new head coach Ange Postecoglou that will change with a better pathway from the academy to the first team.
