Ranking the Top 6 Teenagers to Have Played for Tottenham Hotspur Since 2000

Mauricio Pochettino has included eight teenagers in his squad for Tottenham Hotspur's International Champions Cup trip to Australia.

Joining other slightly older academy products and those first-team players not still recovering from Euro 2016 participation (or those left behind entirely), it is a valuable opportunity for these youngsters to impress their manager.

Good performances against both/either Juventus or Atletico Madrid could help some of them follow in the footsteps of the predecessors who make up this list of the six best teenagers to have played for Tottenham since 2000.

While several academy products have made the jump to senior duty in recent years, the majority have had to wait their turn. Indeed, most of those to have starred for Spurs before turning 20 are promising talents drafted in from elsewhere.

This top six was chosen and ranked with their contributions as teenagers the primary criteria. Just behind this is knowledge of the significance of their emergence/arrival and their clear potential at the time.

Before we begin the list proper, some honourable mentions.

Honourable Mentions

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Adel Taarabt was as exciting a prospect as Tottenham have ever signed.

Josh Onomah is one of those out in Australia. The 19-year-old made encouraging strides last season and another good year (he is 20 in April) would possibly ensure he makes any future version of this list.

Also part of the travelling party is Harry Winks. The promising midfielder, who did turn 20 earlier this year, will hope his own first significant involvement in the first-team is still to come.

If all goes well, he will follow in the footsteps of team-mate Harry Kane and the recently departed Andros Townsend. Both made scoring impressions as Tottenham teenagers (against Shamrock Rovers and Charlton Athletic, respectively) before eventually earning greater opportunities in their early 20s.

Danny Rose knows a little something about making a teenage statement. In a rare chance at the time, the then-19-year-old scored a stunning volley in a 2-1 win over Arsenal in 2010 that helped Spurs qualify for the Champions League.

At the start of the preceding decade, Matthew Etherington hinted at the promise he would fulfil elsewhere. In its middle, Reto Ziegler was a fine initial contributor to the more youthful Spurs being developed by then-sporting director Frank Arnesen.

Adel Taarabt’s introduction in 2007’s memorable 4-3 win over West Ham United gave a tantalising glimpse of his own extraordinary ability. His fleeting subsequent appearances were often as exciting, but alas, he has since struggled to deliver on it.

While he would never truly find his feet at Spurs either, Giovani dos Santos did leave the memory of a powerful strike against Shakhtar Donetsk in the UEFA Cup in 2008.

6. Ledley King

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Ledley King, just after turning 20 here, found his feet at Tottenham as a teenager and would go on to secure legendary status in later years.

Ledley King's inclusion in this list is one big concession to potential over actual achievement.

By the 10th month of 2000, he was no longer a teen and had only featured twice up to that point in the calendar year. He came on late in a 3-1 loss to champions Manchester United, replacing the aforementioned Etherington, and then played 90 minutes in the season-closing 3-1 win over Sunderland.

At a point when Tottenham were struggling to become more than just a mid-table side in the Premier League, however, King was already a reason to be hopeful.

His versatility as a midfielder and a defender was backed by a mix of composure and strength reminiscent of the then-beloved captain and team rock Sol Campbell. Few fans at that point anticipated the youngster would be so vital in filling a void left when the older played joined north London rivals Arsenal.

Led by director of football David Pleat, Spurs were looking to strengthen their ranks with talented young players from the lower leagues. Simon Davies arrived with Etherington from Peterborough, while Gary Doherty and Anthony Gardner were drafted in from Luton Town and Port Vale, respectively.

All would contribute decently enough to Spurs, just none quite so successfully, legendarily even, as the boy King, who was beginning to make his name at the club where he would spend his whole professional career.

5. Tom Huddlestone

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Tom Huddlestone headed out on loan after joining as an 18-year-old but would finish his teenage years making an impression in the Tottenham midfield.

One of the best descriptions of the footballing juxtaposition that is Tom Huddlestone came in Tottenham Hotspur: Player by Player by Ivan Ponting and Tom Morgan.

"Huddlestone is 6'3" of footballing elegance, drifting around White Hart Lane with all the lofty poise of a giraffe lolloping across the African plains."

The fascination with the central midfielder—a relative behemoth with a range of passing reminiscent of Spurs great Glenn Hoddle—has never quite abated even though he has not turned into the consistent force his talent might have made him capable of.

Soon after joining Spurs from Derby County in 2005, Huddlestone was loaned to Wolverhampton Wanders, managed by that great pass-master Hoddle. The then-19-year-old made a few appearances for his parent club upon returning before Jol began using him more regularly at the beginning of the 2006-07 campaign.

While still developing into a more reliable top-flight performer, Huddlestone was still a sight to behold.

His more ambitious passing—invariably firm and precise—drew gasps and appreciative applause. Although not a full-on playmaker, the England youth international had the style of one.

Huddlestone scored his first goals against Port Vale in the League Cup before finishing his teenage years with a sublime half-volley away at Manchester City on December 17, 2006—he turned 20 on December 28 that year. It would be sometime yet before he became a firm part of the Spurs midfield, but he was already an eye-catching contributor.

4. Nabil Bentaleb

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A change in managers midway through the 2013-14 season led to Nabil Bentaleb getting his chance earlier than most anticipated.

Nabil Bentaleb's omission from Tottenham's International Champions Cup squad suggests his days at the club may be numbered.

What could be his last season in north London will not be fondly remembered. Injury denied him the chance to rectify a slow start and, with others subsequently moving ahead of him, the midfielder never really recovered.

Up until last season, Bentaleb's fledgling career had travelled firmly on an upward trajectory.

Where peers like Kane, Ryan Mason and Townsend had to negotiate loan spells as part of their development, he played his first senior minutes in the Premier League.

Handed his debut as a 19-year-old by the newly installed (interim) boss Tim Sherwood away at Southampton in December 2013, he did not look back.

Keeping more senior team-mates like Mousa Dembele and Paulinho out of the team, Bentaleb's tidy and assured performances even earned him a call-up to the Algeria squad for the 2014 World Cup.

Buoyed by his experiences out in Brazil, he soon earned himself a place in Spurs' latest manager Pochettino's team. Injury kept him out of contention for a time, but by his 20th birthday on November 24, 2014, he had again established momentum that would last the rest of the season.

3. Gareth Bale

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Gareth Bale looks on as he scores a free-kick against Arsenal in 2007. It took until his early-20s for him to find his feet with Spurs, but his promise was evident as a teenager.

Ask most people about Gareth Bale's early years at Tottenham and they will talk of the winless streak in the Premier League that lasted from his summer 2007 arrival until a 5-0 win over Burnley in September 2009.

Spurs supporters are well aware this unfortunate sequence had less to do with Bale than the circumstances he found himself in.

Soon after he joined from Southampton a poor start to the 2007-08 season quickly had the club's board undermining manager Martin Jol with not-so-secret advances to Sevilla's Juande Ramos. A year later, the Welshman, by then 19, was one of many toiling in a squad struggling even more under the Spaniard.

Both seasons were ultimately ruined for Bale by injury. When he did play, though, he gave fans reason to believe he was worth the hype surrounding him from his Saints days.

Among his 12 appearances in 2007-08 were goals against Fulham and Arsenal. The first came from a sudden charge into the left-hand channel, the second an impeccable free-kick—sounds familiar, right?

Bale would end Spurs' successful League Cup campaign in a suit, as one of those chosen to parade the trophy around White Hart Lane. He had helped the team get there, though, with a classy strike in the 2-0 third-round win over Middlesbrough that launched the run.

Spurs never got the very best of Bale as a teenager, but he would make up for lost time soon enough.

2. Dele Alli

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Alli's new Premier League foes had difficulties keeping up with the midfielder at times last season.

The word precocious was invented for people like Dele Alli.

Tottenham signed him in January 2015 having already seen enough of the midfielder with League One outfit Milton Keynes Dons to believe the teenager was the real deal. He arrived that summer, and within a month of the new season, he was showing he had an aptitude for the higher level.

Alli's goal in the 1-1 draw with Leicester City—a brave finish to a fine break—was the first of eight he scored before turning 20 this past April.

After initial substitute appearances in a more advanced role, he showed his worth as a partner for Eric Dier in central midfield before again being moved up-field to excellent effect.

In addition to his goals, Alli's all-round vitality was intoxicating and inspiring for a predominantly young side gathering confidence. Before Christmas, he had grabbed the attention of England boss Roy Hodgson, too, scoring a long-range effort against France in just his second appearance.

1. Aaron Lennon

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Aaron Lennon's initial Premier League experiences with Leeds United stood him in good stead when he joined Tottenham in 2005.

Alli was so good in a debut season that ended with Tottenham's highest league finish since 1990 he would be a worthy first place in this list.

Aaron Lennon securing it ahead of him is down to a couple of main reasons.

One is his time as a teenage phenom at Tottenham lasted a season longer than Alli.

Signed from Leeds United in 2005, he got his chance when fellow winger and recent recruit Wayne Routledge was injured in the season opener.

Lennon took it and was excellent, making the right-midfield spot his own over 29 appearances as Spurs finished fifth. Having gone to the 2006 World Cup, the Englishman was more of a known quantity in the following campaign but was still often as thrilling, notably scoring the winner in a 2-1 victory as the north Londoners ended their 16-year hoodoo against capital rivals Chelsea.

The main reason for Lennon pipping Alli, Bale and others to first place is just how big an impact he had on Tottenham at the time.

Under Jol’s management, he joined the likes of Jermaine Jenas, Robbie Keane and King in turning Spurs into a genuine upper-echelon bothering team. After years in which brief flirtations with a European place and the occasional cup run were all they could hope for, this was a big development.

The speedy Lennon was vital to this. His pace, directness and creative intent turned Spurs into a more expansive team, challenging opponents in ways that created more opportunities for his team-mates.

Tottenham narrowly missed out on a Champions League spot but did earn a first UEFA Cup place since 1999. Lennon continued to set pulses racing and remained an important player for the best part of a decade.