Tottenham set to lose coaching talent to Ipswich Town

Stuart Lewis, who looks after the North Londoners’ transition from the academy into the first team, is set to depart, with the 38-year-old agreeing to move to Ipswich Town in a first-team staff role.

He has been guiding the young players at Hotspur Way closely about the tricky jump from academy football into the first team, even if it is only, let’s say, a top-level training session. This kind of position demands patience and technical know-how alongside having that eye for potential. And given the interest from Ipswich, it looks like Lewis was showcasing all of those qualities.

According to a recent report from football.london, Ipswich pushed to take Lewis to Portman Road Stadium this summer, and he has now committed his future to Gary O’Neil’s coaching staff as they look to make a statement after earning themselves a promotion back to the Premier League.

Even if it is about going into the staffing role, given that he will do it on the touchline week in, week out in the Premier League, it shows how big of a step it is for Lewis.

Stuart Lewis operated among the academy at Hotspur Way

Before he stepped into this transition role (which he started last summer), Lewis had spent four years in charge of the under-18s team at Tottenham. And the results that they achieved in those years speak for themselves. He has led his teams to winning the Under-18 Premier League Cup three times alongside two Under-17 trophies.

But when we are speaking about academy football, you judge things based on more than trophies. And that is exactly where Lewis shines, given the role he has played in developing some players that have now made their senior debuts. This list includes Mikey Moore, Jamie Donley, Will Lankshear, Alfie Dorrington, and Luca Williams-Barnett.

And this impact that he has had at Tottenham persuaded Ipswich to get in touch with him.

His exit leaves an obvious gap at Hotspur Way and it comes at a sensitive moment given how Spurs recently lost highly-rated young defender Elijah Upson who joined rivals Arsenal after he turned down a professional contract. This comes as a reminder to stakeholders at Tottenham that they need to establish a well-supported pathway to groom the talent at N17 soon…