Belga

20-year-old Tottenham prodigy out on loan in Ange Postecoglou’s good books

Originally posted on To The Lane And Back
By Rohan Sengupta | Last updated Apr 2, 2025 11:21 AM ET

Tottenham youngster Alfie Devine is currently out on loan at Belgian side KVC Westerlo

There are plenty of exciting young talents at Tottenham Hotspur waiting for their opportunities to make a mark in the first team.

While the Lilywhites’ 2024/25 domestic season has been an utter mess, the young players at the club have stood up. The likes of Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall, Djed Spence and Mikey Moore have given some joy back to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium faithful, underlining further why Daniel Levy’s newly adopted approach of investing in young talents may just be the right way for the club to move forward.

However, there are also young guns out on loan who have been making a mark. Jamie Donley has been enjoying an impressive season with League One club Leyton Orient, most notably scoring the wonder goal from half-line against Manchester City in the FA Cup. Teenager Luka Vuskovic continues to shine for Belgian Pro League club K.V.C Westerlo, netting an eye-catching seven goals in 29 league appearances.

Vuskovic’s teammate at Westerlo, Alfie Devine, who is also on loan from Tottenham, has performed well. The Spurs academy kid has been a regular starter for Westerlo, operating both as a defensive and attacking midfielder. He has been getting plenty of opportunities to play and improve at the Belgian club, as the Hotspur Way chiefs wanted when sanctioning his loan move last year.

However, just when Alfie Devine was picking up rhythm and bringing more consistency to his game, he picked up a muscle injury in February. This showed that even for Tottenham players out on loan did not allow them to escape the injury curse troubling Ange Postecoglou’s side in North London. The versatile midfielder spent a month out on the sidelines, and since returning from his injury, he has made three appearances.

Reputable Football London journalist Rob Guest has shared what he knows about Devine and how he is viewed by Ange Postecoglou. As per him, the 20-year-old made a huge impression on the Tottenham gaffer in the 2024/25 pre-season, with Postecoglou rating him very highly.

“Alfie Devine, probably another one where a decision’s got to be made, whether he’s going to be another loan spell for him. But what I would say with Devine, whenever he has played for Tottenham in preseason, he’s made a big impression on Ange Postecoglou and he’s someone who the head coach does rate quite highly,” Rob Guest said on the Gold and Guest Talk Tottenham Podcast.

Devine has netted four goals in 24 appearances for Westerlo. The midfielder is someone who is known for his qualities on the ball with his perfect passing, tactical intelligence, and ability to read the game, which could make him an ideal player for the way Postecoglou has deployed at Tottenham.

The English talent should be moving back to White Hart Lane when his loan at Westerlo expires in June, but there is no discussion about his future after that. It remains to be seen whether Devine stays with the squad at N17 or moves away on another loan.

This article first appeared on To The Lane And Back and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: