Jamie Donley likely wouldn’t have had many opportunities under Thomas Frank if he remained at Tottenham rather than going on loan to Stoke City.
Ashley Phillips and Donley were loaned to Stoke to further their development over the summer.
While Phillips has been flying with the Championship side, Donley has played just 77 minutes in the league.
As a result, Tottenham have faced calls to recall Donley and send him elsewhere. But that may not be the best choice without a clear plan of action.
Bryan King: Jamie Donley not good enough to stay at Tottenham
Donley is considered one of Tottenham’s brightest youngsters, which is why fans view his treatment at Stoke as bizarre.
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But while his treatment seems unfair, speaking exclusively to Tottenham News, Bryan King believes he’d be a regular on Spurs and Stoke’s first teams if both clubs deemed him ready.
“I don’t know where Spurs would use him,” King said.
“If you’ve got a young player and you potentially think that he’s first-team material, then surely it would have been far better for them to have kept him, and he could have trained with the first team.
“Being with Stoke, they’re a side who have improved vastly under Mark Robins and they’re fighting for promotion at the moment. Is he going to get a chance with them? He’s only played 70 minutes, and the writing is probably on the wall there.
“Is the Championship a step too far for him at the moment? It all depends on what the loan deal is. He certainly hasn’t fulfilled the potential that Spurs obviously thought he would because otherwise he’d be a regular at Stoke.”
Tottenham must avoid another Dane Scarlett situation
Dane Scarlett was Jose Mourinho’s shining star when he was climbing the ranks of Tottenham’s academy.
But several years and failed loan spells later the striker is a shadow of the talent he once was.
One of the biggest reasons behind this was how the Lilywhites organised and handled his loan moves.
Tottenham recalled Scarlett from loan prematurely in the 2023/24 and 2024/25 seasons, despite starting regularly for Oxford United during the latter season.
However, the forward was played only a handful of times upon his return which stunted his development.
Therefore, if Donley is to return from Stoke, it should be only in the case that another loan move is lined up.