Pundit issues ‘brilliant’ Tottenham claim as ‘next Grealish’ signing plan revealed
Alan Hutton has insisted youth recruitment must improve at Tottenham as the club plot a raid for Bristol City sensation Alex Scott.
The former Spurs defender, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, cited Jack Clarke as a young addition that “hasn’t worked out” for the Lilywhites.
As revealed by Football Insider last week (28 May), Tottenham are keeping close tabs on ‘Guernsey Grealish’ Scott, 18, with a view to a possible summer move.
A recruitment source told this site the north Londoners are compiling a dossier on the teenager before deciding whether to launch a formal offer.
Hutton admitted Spurs need to do better in the market when it comes to promising talent.
Asked if Spurs need to improve in terms of youth recruitment, Hutton told Football Insider’s Russell Edge: “If you look at the training ground and the young coaches that want to be involved in that, I think they have to be better.
“That’s not just about the players that you bring through from the surrounding areas. Obviously, that’s good, local boys, you want them into your club, that’s brilliant.
“But it’s also about looking broader than that. What other young talent can we bring in who we can develop further? Who we can show there’s a pathway there to the first team? I think you always have to be looking that way.
“If not, you will stand still. A lot of the big clubs do it, the likes of City, Rangers and Celtic, to a certain extent. All these clubs look around for the best young talent and bring them in. They see an opportunity to get them into the first team. It’s a thing Spurs should definitely be better at.
“I think the penny drops for these kids of different times. They’re not all going to say: ‘As soon as you hit 21 you’re going to be this fantastic player.’
“It doesn’t quite happen. You look at the likes of Jack Clarke. He came with a big reputation, he was going to go on to great things. It didn’t quite work out, maybe it was too much, too soon. It could be something quite as simple as that.”
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