Tottenham recall club’s youngest ever debutant from Championship loan as Postecoglou faces mammoth injury crisis
TOTTENHAM have recalled young striker Dane Scarlett from Oxford – but plan to loan him out again.
Spurs’ first team are painfully short of attacking options after Dominic Solanke and Brennan Johnson joined their massive list of injuries.
But rather than Scarlett being brought back to bolster numbers, the 20-year-old has been recalled due to a lack of game-time at Championship side United.
The N17 academy product made just seven league starts for the Yellows, netting four times.
Spurs are looking to farm him back out in this window to boost his experience.
The North Londoners remain on the lookout for a new forward this window, having brought in only goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky so far.
They missed out on Randal Kolo Muani, who is joining Juventus on loan from Paris Saint-Germain.
Boss Ange Postecoglou said after Sunday’s defeat to Everton that the club were doing everything in their power to add new faces, but that nothing was “imminent”.
The Aussie, whose job remains safe despite recording a 12th league loss of the season at Goodison Park, added: “The club’s well aware of our situation and they’re doing their utmost.
“As far as I know at the moment there’s nothing imminent.
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“But you know, I assume between now and we’re getting to the end of the window that hopefully something comes up.”
Spurs were without ten players at the Toffees, including four attacking players.
Solanke is set to miss the next few weeks with a knee problem, while Johnson faces a month out with a knock.
Timo Werner is still three weeks away with a hamstring injury – which is the same issue that has ruled summer signing Wilson Odobert for most of the campaign.
Scarlett became Tottenham’s youngest-ever debutant in 2021 and drew praise from then-manager Jose Mourinho.
The Special One said: “He is a diamond, a kid with incredible potential.
Tottenham's top 10 biggest signings: Hit or miss?
1) Tanguy Ndombele – £52.7m
Ndombele joined from Lyon in 2019 with huge expectations after shattering Tottenham’s transfer record.
But he would go on to play just 91 times for the club, scoring 10 goals and is now set to leave one year before the end of his contract.
2) Richarlison – £49.3m
Richarlison almost broke the £50m mark when he arrived from Everton in 2022 as Harry Kane’s back-up.
And while his tally of 12 goals this season was a significant increase on the three from his opening Spurs campaign, he is being linked with a departure this summer.
3) Brennan Johnson – £46.8m
Johnson was signed by Ange Postecoglou last summer and has impressed in patches during his first season in North London.
He scored five goals and 10 assists in 38 games and will look to build on that in the 2024/25 campaign.
4) Cristian Romero – £44.2m
Romero initially joined on loan from Atalanta in 2021, before his impressive displays saw him secure a permanent deal the following year.
He is two games shy of 100 for Spurs and, while he can be reckless with his tackling at times, is beginning to form a promising partnership with Micky van de Ven.
5) James Maddison – £39.4m
Maddison was handed Kane’s No10 shirt after arriving at Spurs and hit the ground running with three goals and five assists in his opening 11 matches.
But after getting injured against Chelsea in October, he failed to return with the same sharpness – managing just five goal contributions in 15 league matches as he missed out on England’s final 26-man squad for the Euros.
6) Davinson Sanchez – £35.7m
Sanchez joined Spurs from Ajax in 2017 and played more than 200 games across a six-year spell.
But he was always considered a somewhat erratic defender who did not play more than 20 games in a Premier League season from 2020 onwards.
7) Pedro Porro – £34m
Porro was another signing who originally arrived on loan in January 2023, before he signed permanently last summer.
He has 54 appearances for Spurs under his belt, scoring seven goals and impressing under Postecoglou this season.
8) Micky van de Ven – £34m
Rapid Dutch centre-back Van de Ven was named Spurs Player of the Season in his first campaign at the club.
His pace, athleticism, and technical ability on the ball have made him arguably Postecoglou’s best signing to date.
9) Moussa Sissoko – £29.8m
Sissoko came to North London for a substantial fee after being relegated with Newcastle and went on to enjoy five years at Tottenham, playing more than 200 games.
Unfortunately for the French midfielder, he is best-known for giving away a controversial penalty for handball in the first minute of Spurs’ 2-0 Champions League final defeat to Liverpool in 2019.
10) Giovani Lo Celso – £27.2m
Lo Celso joined on loan from Real Betis in 2019 – a deal that was made permanent the following season.
He has 10 goals and eight assists in 108 games, with some Spurs fans still unsure about the Argentine.
“He is going to be a fantastic player and I hope everything around him goes well.
“He is a striker, a number nine, I have been playing him from the sides similar to Marcus Rashford and he is very clever.”
Scarlett, now 20, has played for England at five different age levels.
He has previously been on loan to Portsmouth and Ipswich Town.