Tottenham Hotspur talent Alfie Devine enjoyed a strong performance despite Preston North End’s 3-2 home defeat to Wrexham.
Preston North End are out of the Carabao Cup after squandering a 2-1 advantage over Wrexham at Deepdale.
Paul Heckingbottom’s side were brilliant in the first half, but caution over potential injuries in attack resulted in Wrexham seizing the initiative.
Kieffer Moore’s late winner knocked PNE out of the competition, but Tottenham Hotspur loanee Alfie Devine caught the eye for the Lilywhites.
Spurs have sent Devine on loan to North End for the season, with a permanent option – expected to be out of PNE’s reach – included in the deal.
Preston North End fans rave about Tottenham Hotspur loanee Alfie Devine
Devine floated around the midfield to great effect in the first half, consistently finding space to hurt Wrexham in the inside-left channel.
The Spurs talent ghosted past Wrexham players for fun and picked up an assist, crossing for Liam Lindsay to score PNE’s second goal.
North End fans have taken to social media to rave about Devine, with one fan remarking, ‘Devine is a bit special, isn’t he?’, while another urged PNE to strike a deal now.
‘Buy Alfie Devine NOW, what a player,’ they wrote as Devine ran the show in the first half against Wrexham.
Others fear that PNE won’t be able to afford a deal for Devine and joked about starting a fundraiser to keep him at Deepdale.
‘I’m sure that if we all whack £100 into a GoFundMe, we might be able to afford Alfie Devine’s right leg. Quality player,’ said one fan.
‘Think we should start fundraising now to make sure we’ve got enough money to buy Devine! The lad is quality,’ added another.
North End’s transfer record stands at just over £2million, spent on signing Montenegrin striker Milutin Osmajic in 2023.
PNE will have to break that record in order to sign Devine, but fans already appear to have fallen in love with the Spurs loanee.
Alfie Devine may be ready to settle down away from Tottenham Hotspur
Devine was even named Man of the Match for PNE, with the midfielder’s performance earning widespread acclaim.
Tottenham fans were not impressed with Devine’s exit, as some felt that he deserved more of a chance in the Spurs first team.
Devine joined Tottenham from Wigan Athletic in 2020, with the midfielder arriving at the age of just 15.
Devine scored against Marine at 16 years and 163 days, but he has only made one more first-team appearance since that day.
Now 21, Devine may be ready to settle down away from Tottenham, having completed a fourth loan exit.
Spells with Port Vale, Plymouth Argyle and Westerlo didn’t take Devine any closer to first-team reckoning at Spurs, with PNE now offering him the chance to find a permanent home in Lancashire.