Tottenham academy talent Alfie Devine joined K.V.C Westerlo on loan on transfer deadline day
Tottenham Hotspur have an extremely talented pool of youngsters and academy products that Ange Postecoglou wants to develop by giving opportunities.
The Greek-Australian tactician has never hesitated to give young guns a chance to showcase their talent since taking over the club’s reins last year. And it has been reflected through Spurs’ transfer policy as well since the summer of 2023, with the likes of Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall, Wilson Odobert and Min Hyeok-yang all deciding to become a part of the project under Ange Postecoglou.
Big Ange has already handed debuts to Bergvall, Odobert and Gray, and with the cup competitions set to start after the international break, the trio are expected to get more minutes under their belt. The 59-year-old knows which youngsters are capable of making an instant and which could do well with a loan.
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Thus, he sanctioned loan moves for quite a few academy talents and youngsters in the past summer transfer window. One of those was Alfie Devine.
Alfie Devine secured a season-long loan to Belgian Pro League club K.V.C. Westerlo in the summer. After a fine pre-season tour of Asia, it was believed that maybe the youngster would hang around the first team and get minutes, but the club and Big Ange decided to let him leave on loan last month.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Football London correspondent Alasdair Gold has now revealed that several clubs tabled loan with the option to buy bids for Alfie Devine before his loan move to K.V.C Westerlo, which the Lilywhites rejected.
“Straight loan, no option to buy. I think some clubs, from what I understand, were putting in bids for him of loan with an option to buy, but Spurs weren’t looking at that because they believe he can be something pretty decent as time goes on,” Alasdair Gold said about Devine.
Devine joined the Tottenham academy in 2020 and turned professional under former boss Nuno Espirito Santo, signing a three-year contract at the age of 17. The young Englishman has performed well in our academy but is yet to break into the first team.
The midfielder spent the first half of last season on loan at Port Vale, and after showing he is way above than playing in League One, Spurs terminated his loan spell in January and immediately farmed him out on loan to Championship side Plymouth Argyle. The England under-20 international made nine starts and six appearances off the bench, as Plymouth Argyle narrowly beat the drop.
Devine, who was a shock subject of a loan swoop from Saudi Arabian side Al-Ittifaq on transfer deadline day, will now be hoping to impress at Westerlo in Belgium. At 20, the central midfielder has plenty of things to learn and develop, and he must make the most of his experience in a European league.
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Tottenham rejecting loan bids with an option to buy from several clubs and only accepting a straight loan from Westerlo speak volumes about Devine’s talent and potential. Big Ange and Spurs know there is something special about the kid and want to see the midfielder get regular game time in the Belgium top-flight, before perhaps integrating him into the first-team in the 2025/26 season.
