Tottenham Sent Scouts to Watch Ebbsfleet United Midfielder Shilow Tracey
Another youth player is back on Tottenham Hotspur’s and that’s Ebbsfleet United midfielder, Shilow Tracey.
Not too long ago, Ebbsfleet United sent their highly-rated 17-year-old midfielder, Shilow Tracey, on a trial with Tottenham — for one week at the minimum — to give him valuable experience training with a Premier League club.
The trial was a success as Spurs were impressed with Tracey that Ebbsfleet United manager, Daryl McMahon, was going to send the 17-year-old back to Tottenham for another trial according to a report by News Shopper.
“It went OK for him, he’s probably going to go back for another trial,” McMahon said.
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It didn’t stop there though. Before having Tracey come back on trial, Spurs went one step further by sending some scouts to watch him on Tuesday night’s FA Youth Cup. Shilow Tracey’s trial lasted for three days but it was more than enough that Daryl McMahon believes Spurs could sign one of Ebbsfleet United’s best youth talents.
"“I think so, yeah – I believe so. We’ll have to wait and see, they’re not going to dive in straight away. He was there for three days, three training sessions – he’s back playing with us now. We’ll see how it goes and there’s no pressure on Shilow, we’re happy with him at Ebbsfleet. He’s a very good player. He was late a few times in pre-season – which a lot of young players are – but since then he’s sorted himself out and been absolutely terrific. He’s worked ever so hard and he’s committed to the club and he’s committed to improving. He’s an excellent young talent and if nothing comes out of it with Spurs, I’m sure he will be featuring in our first team in no time. He’s a terrific talent and I really believe in his ability.”"
With Tottenham already featuring a young squad during the 2015-16 Premier League season, it wouldn’t be surprising if a move will be made in January. An open spot on Spurs’ squad could happen after Andros Townsend has been dropped from future matchday selections for his incident with fitness coach Nathan Gardiner. Could Shilow Tracey potentially fill Townsend’s spot as a backup midfielder?
Obviously replacing a 24-year-old winger with a 17-year-old midfielder isn’t going to help Tottenham right away. It’ll take some time for Spurs to reap the benefits since Shilow Tracey won’t be starting many games this season if he arrives in January and any time soon due to other players being higher up on the pecking order.
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But due to Josh Onomah’s Premier League appearance on Monday night against Aston Villa, and with Dele Alli (19) and Harry Winks (19) getting playing time — more so for Alli than Winks — age isn’t a factor in Mauricio Pochettino’s selections. Having the talent and playing well does.
Shilow Tracey, a product of the Ebbsfleet Academy has only been able to make one appearance for the first team but was able to score for the Fleet’s Under-18 team last week.
The talent is there, as mentioned above by Daryl McMahon, and with Tottenham getting to see the 17-year-old in person and being impressed enough to take Tracey back on trial once more. It’s possible that there may be some rumblings about a transfer move in January if a second trial is another success and Mauricio Pochettino feels that Tracey will greatly impact his first team immediately.
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If Tottenham are able to sign Shilow Tracey, this will be another Dele Alli type of signing this winter:sign Shilow Tracey for x amount of money and send him back on loan to his club for the rest of the season before rejoining Spurs ahead of the 2016-17 season. If both clubs can’t agree on a transfer, then Tottenham would miss out on a young talent for a while. Tracey would remain with Ebbsfleet United and become a starter meaning both clubs won’t reopen negotiations until the summer or next winter.