Some have picked up on a change that Tottenham Hotspur have made on their website, which may show how the club now view Luca Williams-Barnett.
Over the last couple of weeks, Roberto De Zerbi has finally given Spurs fans what they have been clamouring for all season by giving opportunities in the Premier League to Williams-Barnett.
The 18-year-old has only played a total of 18 minutes across two cameos off the bench against Crystal Palace and Leeds United, but has already shown enough to leave the fan base salivating at the prospect of what he could achieve.
In fact, Williams-Barnett’s piece of skill against Palace won him the Premier League Creative Moment of the Month award for October.
The teenager showed the kind of flair and dribbling ability that is not common in modern football, leaving three Palace defenders for dead with his close control and change of direction, but Mohammed Kudus could not apply the finishing touches to the move.
Tottenham send clear signal that Luca Williams-Barnett is now a first-team player
Despite only turning 18 years of age recently, and being considerably younger than most players in Tottenham’s U21 set-up, the club have now sent a clear sign that Williams-Barnett is a first-team player.
Some Spurs fans on social media have now picked up on the fact that the attacking midfielder’s name is now listed among the first-team section on the club’s website. They have also added a nice touch with a ‘made in N17’ badge next to his name to cement his ‘one of our own’ status.
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This move potentially sends a clear message about how Roberto De Zerbi and his staff view the youngster’s role.
This is not the only sign Tottenham have sent about Luca Williams-Barnett’s status at the club either.
Earlier in the season, Williams-Barnett was the only academy youngster included in Spurs’ first-team photograph. Additionally, the attacker has made just one appearance for the U21s all season, which is clear evidence that he is now part of De Zerbi’s set-up.
Williams-Barnett set to skip loan phase of his development
Most Premier League clubs, including Tottenham, follow the policy of loaning out their talented players so that they can get senior minutes and slowly build up to the step up in quality.
Spurs have done this even with extremely talented youngsters such as Mikey Moore and Luka Vuskovic.
However, their approach with Williams-Barnett may be entirely different, which shows that the teenager is a cut above the other talents who have come through the ranks over the last decade or so.
According to recent reports, Tottenham have decided against loaning out the 18-year-old in January and expect him to get plenty of minutes for De Zerbi’s side over the coming weeks and months.