Celtic fans will love what Jose Mourinho once said about Alfie Devine amid Tottenham development
Celtic are pursuing a deal for Tottenham Hotspur’s rising star Alfie Devine this summer transfer window to boost their midfield options.
The 21-year-old had a highly successful loan spell at Preston North End last season, with Martin O’Neill travelling to watch the centre-midfielder multiple times.
Football Insider has now exclusively revealed that Tottenham are open to Devine’s sale, and are happy to accept a bid between £4million-£6m.
Previously, Jose Mourinho had been full of praise for the midfielder after he made his first-team debut during their 5-0 FA Cup victory over Marine back in 2021.
The rising star came off the bench to become the club’s youngest-ever player at 16 years and 163 days and would score their fifth goal of the match.
Now, Celtic are looking to bring the midfielder into the club ahead of the 2026-27 campaign as they look to defend their Scottish Premiership title.
Jose Mourinho: Alfie Devine has an instinct to appear in finishing zones and to score goals
Devine has trained under a host of top managers at Tottenham so far in his career, including Ange Postecoglou and Thomas Frank.
However, it was Mourinho who spoke the highest of the midfielder since he joined the North London club in 2020 from Wigan Athletic.
After their win over Marine, the former Spurs boss spoke to The Standard on 10 January 2021 and was quick to praise Devine.
"He's a kid with good potential that came to the club only this summer," Mourinho said.
"He was lucky enough to have pre-season with us because we were short of players, so he had pre-season with us and played a few friendlies. Which of course gave him close contact with the first team.
“He's not a stranger, and then working in the academy, playing in different teams in the academy.
"Coming to us sometimes to train so a nice process for him. Also, some experience in the youth teams and in the national team, so step by step he's going.
“He's a kid that basically is a midfield player but with an instinct to appear in finishing zones and to score goals. We like him and of course for him today is a special day."
How good is Devine?
Since his debut for Spurs in 2021, the midfielder has progressed nicely.
While he may not have turned into a top Premier League player as of yet, he is clearly talented, as shown in his loan spell at Preston last season.
According to Fotmob on 6 July, Devine was averaging 0.23 goals, a 0.21 xG, 2.42 shots, 0.17 assists, a 0.20 xA, 1.47 chances created and 2.71 touches in the opposition box per 90 minutes in the second-tier in the 2025-26 campaign.
As a result, he netted eight goals overall in the division and picked up six assists.
With the midfielder only likely to get better as his career progresses, it remains to be seen if Celtic can complete the swoop for the youngster over the coming weeks.