Should Tottenham loan out academy graduate this summer? – Opinion

Daniel Levy has been moving quite aggressively in the ongoing summer transfer window as he looks to make a dynamic and interchangeable forward line under the new head coach, Thomas Frank. And this saw the North Londoners bring in Mohammed Kudus earlier this summer.

While they failed in their attempt to sign former Wolves midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White from Nottingham Forest, Tottenham will surely try to bring in an alternative to the England international.

At the moment the North Londoners have ample options out wide, starting with Heung-min Son (if he were to stay at N17), Mathys Tel, Mohammed Kudus, Brennan Johnson, Dejan Kulusevski, and Wilson Odobert. Let’s not forget Richarlison as well, given his ability to drift wide if needed.

And if we look at the aforementioned names, all of them are either regulars or high-profile signings, with each one of them expected to fight for starting minutes. And then there are the likes of Kudus and Tel, who give you that positional versatility (they can play on the wing as well as out wide), which makes it even harder for a pure winger like Moore to find consistent minutes. Then think about the fact that Thomas Frank will demand this sense of tactical flexibility, which I just mentioned, which will be another thing, given how that would mean he will use his strikers in different ways, making minutes for a developing wide forward even less.

If we think about domestic cup competitions as well, Moore will find himself behind five or six players in the pecking order there as well.

Why does a loan move for Moore also make sense…

While he has been linked with a permanent move away from Tottenham, with Borussia Dortmund looking to offer him a pathway to consistent game time under his belt and develop him into his potential, at the moment, if we think from Tottenham’s point of view, a loan move makes more sense than losing him on a permanent transfer just yet.

If he goes out to play on loan, Moore will get reasonable regular first-team minutes to hone his skills, and this exposure to senior-level physicality and tactical demands will prepare him for life in the English top tier. And it will take him away for a bit from this limelight and the pressure it brings.

So when he comes back, he will be more battle-hardened and match-ready, and then Tottenham can take a decision to either integrate him into the first team or maybe sell him off for a decent fee.

Levy will need to be wary of Scarlett/Gil’s trap with Moore

We have seen how a few talented young players (Dane Scarlett and Bryan Gil) have fallen into a rhythmic circle of loans at Tottenham, which ends up stalling their development given the poor loan club choices or their extended bench roles.

And Mikey Moore honestly has too much of an upside to sit on the sidelines.

So Daniel Levy needs to be a bit strategic; see Moore, if he is being loaned out, he doesn’t need a glamorous move; the Lilywhites academy graduate just needs the right one.

Author Opinion

We all know that Moore is a future first-teamer (be it at Tottenham or elsewhere), and at the moment the goal within the chiefs at Hotspur Way should be to accelerate his pathway into the first team rather than blocking it. And with the wing roles congested at Tottenham as of now, a loan move looks like the best long-term investment given his immense potential.