Former Lealands High School pupil comes off the bench for Tottenham
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Highly promising Luton-born teenager Luca Williams-Barnett made debut for Tottenham Hotspur last night as he became the 900th player to represent the Premier League club when coming off the bench in the Carabao Cup 3-0 third round win over Doncaster Rovers.
The 16-year-old, who went to Lealands High School in Sundon Park Road, moved to north London as an U10, having previously been with the Hatters’ youth age-groups. He has constantly caught the eye since joining Spurs though, playing for the U18s at the age of 15 in the 2023-24 campaign, winning the U18 Premier League Goal of the Season for a superb strike against Leicester City, also netting a hat-trick in the U17 Premier League Cup Final success against Charlton Athletic.
Having played for England at U15, U16 and U17 levels to date, Williams-Barnett was named on the bench for Tottenham on four occasions last term, three in the UEFA Europa League and once in the Premier League, and after scoring six goals and getting four assists in the U21s this season, was then introduced in the latter stages of yesterday’s triumph over Luton’s opponents in League One this weekend.
After having the final six minutes plus stoppage time at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, then on his debut, boss Thomas Frank told the Evening Standard: “I think it's always a pleasure to be part of a young player's debut. So, yeah, happy with that. I think that definitely over the last many years the focus on the talent development and academies across the world is so big.
"So the talent pool is bigger. There are these talents coming through that are younger and younger. But one thing is the debut when you're 16. The next step, and much more important, is how Luca or other players take those steps forward. It's very tough to keep going and then get into the first team as a really regular player. But the first step is very important. I'm well aware of Luca's talent and I like what I see. He's young, obviously, but his composure and technique and vision is very good.”
Meanwhile, U18s boss Stuart Lewis has already made some lofty comparisons about Williams-Barnett and some Spurs player of the last, adding: “He loves football. He's such an exciting, creative player. I spoke in the week about Tottenham players and having that creativity and that go-for-it mindset. We've loved (David) Ginola over the years, we've loved (Dimitar) Berbatov, those players. Luca's still got a lot of work to do. He's an Under-16 player but throughout the season there's been some unbelievable moments."