Another academy departure, and this time it’s one of the coaches. Tottenham Hotspur announced today that Stuart Lewis, First Team Academy Transition Coach, has left the club and is heading for a similar role at newly-promoted Ipswich Town.
Lewis’ role at the club was to help Spurs academy graduates transition from U23/U21 football to the Spurs first team, and while I don’t want to make assumptions, I certainly wonder if Tottenham’s focus on “oven ready” players this summer hasn’t had an impact on his decision to leave. There certainly doesn’t appear to be much of a pathway to the first team at the moment and likely won’t be for the next couple of seasons, unless a few of Spurs’ younger players really turn Roberto De Zerbi’s head. There just isn’t much of a pathway to the first team right now, and you have to wonder whether a certain level of recognition and frustration in that reality might have affected Lewis’ decision to leave.
But I’m projecting. I don’t really know — it could also be that Ipswich needed someone like Lewis and made him a better offer than Spurs. That might be the simplest, and most likely correct, reason. Lewis is also a product of Spurs’ academy and had a solid career in the lower levels of English football before transitioning to coaching, but coaches are naturally ambitious and it’s not surprising to see assistants leave for other opportunities, no matter how much they like the club they’re at.
From what I’m reading, Spurs are going to miss Lewis in his role, but I hope he’s able to make a good impact at Ipswich.