Barnett? Goals, assists, style of play assessed for 17

Brought into this world eight months after Tottenham Hotspur won their most recent domestic trophy, Lilywhites phenom Luca Jamie Williams-Barnett has been taking academy football by storm over the past couple of years, and his feats are rightly being recognised.

The 2008-born playmaker has been racking up the individual milestones of late, from signing his first professional Spurs deal just a couple of weeks ago, to being voted the Premier League 2's Player of the Month for September.

More recently, Williams-Barnett was named as one of the Premier League's top 20 'Next Gen' talents by The Guardian, who cherry-picked one enormously-talented player born between September 2008 and August 2009 for every English top-flight club.

As Williams-Barnett starts to knock on the Tottenham first-team door, Sports Mole takes a deeper look at the teenager, delving into his background, recent form and the style of play that has excited coaches, fans and journalists alike.

Luca Williams-Barnett: Background

Born in Luton in October 2008, Williams-Barnett naturally began his journey to professional stardom with Luton Town, and he would be playing under ex-Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere right now had he remained at Kenilworth Road.

However - with all due respect to the Hatters - Williams-Barnett was destined for bigger things and was soon enrolled into the Tottenham academy as an Under-10s player, since when he has been rising through the age groups at a rapid rate.

Williams-Barnett was still just 15 years old when he experienced his first taste of Under-18s football in the 2023-24 season, ending that league campaign with two goals and one assist from seven matches and quickly catching the eye of Ange Postecoglou.

Williams-Barnett had not even made his debut for the Lilywhites' Under-21s side by the time he made his first senior matchday squad, as he travelled to Galatasaray for a Europa League league-phase match in November 2024, observing that 3-2 loss from the bench.

The youngster was also an unused substitute in subsequent European encounters with Roma and Rangers, and he was named in a Premier League squad for the first time in December 2024, watching on from the dugout as Spurs drew 1-1 with London rivals Fulham.

Having already earned Postecoglou's admiration, Williams-Barnett also made the right kind of impression under Thomas Frank, who brought him on for his professional debut against Doncaster Rovers in the EFL Cup last month.

Williams-Barnett replaced Mathys Tel for the final three minutes of that 3-0 win, thus becoming Tottenham's youngest-ever EFL Cup player at 16 years, 11 months and 24 days, only a week before signing his first professional contract.

Luca Williams-Barnett: Recent form

Either side of his brief first-team involvements in the 2024-25 campaign, Williams-Barnett took a leaf out of the Micah Richards book by bursting onto the scene at youth level, tearing defences apart left, right and centre for the Under-18s.

The 17-year-old amassed a spectacular 32 goal contributions from 23 games in the 2024-25 season - 20 of his own and 12 assists - including 19 strikes and nine helpers in the Under-18 Premier League season.

Williams-Barnett started as he meant to continue with 10 goals in his first nine outings of the campaign, before scoring a hat-trick and also providing an assist in a 5-3 success over Brighton & Hove Albion in February.

The versatile attacker finished the season as the second-highest scorer in the Under-18 Premier League, only trailing Nicholas Okelunye's 27 goals for Southampton.

Tottenham were knocked out in the fifth round of last year's FA Youth Cup by Watford, but Williams-Barnett nevertheless set up all three of his side's goals in their 3-2 third-round win over Middlesbrough and also netted in the fourth-round beating of Grimsby Town.

The juvenile star was inevitably promoted to the Under-21s for the 2025-26 season, and the step-up has been a breeze so far, as Williams-Barnett already has six goals and three assists under his belt from six Premier League 2 appearances.

Williams-Barnett's performances in September saw him bestowed with the Player of the Month prize, while he also provided a goal and assist in a UEFA Youth League win over Villarreal.

The 17-year-old has already begun to terrorise senior rearguards too, as he scored one and set up another in a pulsating 4-4 draw with Bristol Rovers in the EFL Trophy, before Tottenham lost on penalties.

Internationally, Williams-Barnett has represented England from Under-15 to Under-18 level and has already scored twice in three appearances for the latter.

Luca Williams-Barnett: Style of play

An adaptable and unpredictable attacking midfielder, Williams-Barnett can function as an out-and-out number 10, a centre-forward or on either side of the attack, but he primarily likes to drift infield from the left.

The 17-year-old showcases masterful control and balance when he has the ball at his feet, often dropping deep to collect possession before carving through opposing lines by himself.

Williams-Barnett is not the most physically imposing player at 5ft 9in, but the playmaker rides a tackle superbly thanks to his confidence, deceptive strength, nifty footwork and low centre of gravity.

After weaving his way through opposing challenges, Williams-Barnett normally has the vision to pick out a teammate's run with a perfectly-weighted through ball, or go for goal himself.

The teenager has made a habit of catching goalkeepers off their line from long range, scoring a handful of astonishing 30+yard goals last season, while also demonstrating ruthlessness from close in with powerful drives and delicate dinks.

Williams-Barnett is never one to shy away from a fancy flick or skill move either; such tactics have proven effective at youth level so far, and if he carries on in the same vein over the coming months, he should be given more chances to strut his stuff with the big boys too.