Tottenham Hotspur academy talent Jamie Donley has been thriving on loan at Leyton Orient in League One
Tottenham Hotspur have a plethora of young talents at their disposal with bags of potential, and Ange Postecoglou along with the club chiefs are responsible for their development.
Spurs moved on most of their deadwood last summer and loaned out a few of their academy talents to various clubs across Europe and lower tiers of English football. The club opted to send Jamie Donley on loan as well.
Jamie Donley has shone at Leyton Orient in Football League One, emerging as one of the division’s most creative talents. The youngster has scored six goals and assisted five more in 26 league appearances for Leyton Orient this season, with Richie Wellens’ side currently occupying eighth place in the table.
The Spurs loanee created headlines in the FA Cup with a dazzling performance against Manchester City in February. Donley sent the home fans into delirium just 16 minutes into the game, sensationally lobbing from half line that hit the crossbar and deflected in off Manchester City goalkeeper Stefan Ortega, resulting in a goal that will be remembered in FA Cup history for years and years to come.
Man City boss Pep Guardiola praised the 20-year-old after the game, terming him an “incredible talent”. Reflecting on his loan spell at Orient thus far, the Antrim-born talent says he did the right thing by leaving Tottenham temporarily to explore men’s football.
“I want to play in these games,” he told BBC Radio London (h/t BBC). “I want to show everyone what I can do.
“People say to go out and explore men’s football instead of just playing under-21s football and now I’m at this stage, I’m glad I’ve gone and done that. I’ve obviously had the down moment in my career where I wasn’t playing and getting in the squad but I’ve come out of the other side.
“Now I’m doing well – I’m playing lots of minutes and it’s coming out as a successful loan for me.
“Coming from Tottenham, everyone expects you to be this amazing player and just to hit the ground running straight away but it’s not that easy coming as my first loan into men’s football.
“The gaffer always told me he knows the quality I have and it’s just about showing that. Luckily, I’ve shown that over the last few months.”
Donley has been performing extremely well in Orient colours, acting as the team’s creative spark and making a difference in the final third on and off the ball. And whilst the England under-19 international is well equipped in terms of his ability on the ball, a year of men’s football at Orient should be invaluable in terms of getting adjusted to the fast and physical nature of English football as a whole.
As per an exclusive report from GIVEMESPORT, Tottenham will welcome Donley back into the squad for pre-season after his loan spell with Orient to guage whether he is ready for first-team action next season. Highly regarded within the club, he is expected to get chances to impress the bosses at White Hart Lane later this year.
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Of course, it is interesting to consider what kind of opportunities Donley will actually have at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium next season. Perhaps a season-long loan in the Championship or Europe could really benefit our academy kid, who is still inexperienced at senior level despite his obvious talent.
