Tottenham goalkeeper Luca Gunter is back training with the first team at Hotspur Way, but the plan is for him to head out on loan again as soon as the January transfer window opens.
According to the Evening Standard, Gunter will weigh up his loan options in the new year after Tottenham recalled him from Boreham Wood last month. He is not the only academy name with a decision to make before January, either.
Tyrese Hall is expected to have both loan and permanent offers to consider, while under-21s captain James Rowswell could also look for a temporary move after a summer switch failed to come off.
Why did Tottenham recall Luca Gunter?
It was not about his form. Gunter joined Boreham Wood in the summer and made the number one shirt his own straight away, starting each of their first 11 National League games and playing twice in the National League Cup.
Boreham Wood are still unbeaten in the league, with 11 wins from their 13 matches, and they are running away at the top. Gunter was a big part of that start, which makes the timing of his return a little cruel for him.
The reason was an injury to Brandon Austin, Spurs’ third-choice goalkeeper. With Austin out, Gunter came back to fill the gap in first-team training, and that is where he will stay for now.
What happens to Gunter in January?
He goes again. Gunter is expected to stay around the senior squad until the window opens, then look for another loan, which makes sense for a young goalkeeper who has just shown he can handle a run of games at a club fighting for promotion.
Keepers need minutes more than anyone. A few weeks with the first-team group under Roberto De Zerbi will do him no harm, but training alone will not develop him the way a weekly matchday does. Spurs already know how much a loan can change a keeper’s standing: Guglielmo Vicario’s spell in Italy has gone so well that Juventus could make his move permanent for around €8m.
Tyrese Hall and James Rowswell also weigh up their futures
Hall is the most interesting of the three. Offers to take him on loan and to buy him outright are both expected, so Spurs have a real call to make on a midfielder who already had a loan spell in League Two with Notts County.
Rowswell, who captains the under-21s, was hoping to move in the summer, and it did not happen. January gives him a second chance to find regular senior football.
De Zerbi has opened the academy door
All of this is happening while De Zerbi leans on the academy more than he did earlier in the season. Luca Williams-Barnett made his Premier League debut against Crystal Palace last weekend, and we covered what the 18-year-old brings in our Luca Williams-Barnett scouting report.
Several academy players, Callum Olusesi among them, also travelled with the first team to the warm-weather camp in Marbella last month. The pathway is clearly open, but not everyone can come through it at once.
Verdict: another loan is the right call for Gunter
Gunter’s recall was about cover, not a reward, and nobody at Spurs seems to be pretending otherwise. Eleven straight league starts for the National League leaders is a strong first spell, and the next step should be a loan at a higher level, ideally in the EFL, where he would be tested every week.
For Hall, it is a bigger decision. If a permanent offer comes in that suits him, letting him go with a sell-on clause could be smarter than another loan. Rowswell simply needs games. January looks like a busy month for the Tottenham academy, even if the first team stays quiet.
