MX23RW : Thursday, November 7 19:23:25| >> :120:15114:15114:

Tottenham's Japhet Tanganga insists there is more to come from Alfie Devine

Tottenham's Japhet Tanganga insists there is more to come from Alfie Devine
© Reuters
The 16-year-old became the club's youngest ever player and goalscorer in Sunday's FA Cup win over Marine.

Tottenham defender Japhet Tanganga says this could just be the start for record-breaker Alfie Devine.

The midfielder became the club's youngest ever player and goalscorer in Sunday's FA Cup win over Marine, entering the record books at 16 years and 163 days.

It has been a prominent rise for the teenager, who joined the club from Wigan in the summer and has already trained with the first team and played for the club's under-23s.

Tanganga only made his own debut last season and is backing Devine to be a star.

"He's trained a few times with us and every time he's come up he's looked a real spark," he said.

"He's doing well. When he was coming on (with me at half-time), I just told him, 'Keep it simple, do what you've been doing in training – there's a reason why you've been training up'.

"You saw glimpses of his ability, a really professional performance. I'm really happy for him to get his first professional goal. He's a really good player and there's more to come as well.

"It's a great achievement and it was a great goal. I'm happy for him and hopefully from here it's a confidence boost, knowing that the manager can put him in for these games.

"He's shown he can hustle, he's shown what he can do, so hopefully from here he can kick on and get more appearances for the club."

Mourinho, who went to Devine's medical to meet him, has shown faith in the teenager, who first caught Spurs' eye when Wigan beat them in the FA Youth Cup last season.

He was involved in some pre-season friendlies and has been training with the first team recently.

Mourinho said: "He's a kid with good potential that came to the club only this summer.

"He was lucky enough to have pre-season with us because we were short of players.  So he had pre-season with us and played a few friendlies, which of course gave him close contact with the first team.

"He's not a stranger, and then working in the academy, playing in different teams in the academy, coming to us sometimes to train, so a nice process for him.

"He's a kid that basically is a midfield player but with an instinct to appear in finishing zones and to score goals. We like him and of course for him today is a special day."

ID:430104: cacheID:430104:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:18517:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Marine's David Raven in action with Tottenham's Carlos Vinicius in January 2021
Read Next:
Marine's David Raven fears Tottenham defeat could be his final game
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool108111961325
2Manchester CityMan City1072121111023
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest10541147719
4Chelsea105322012818
5Arsenal105321711618
6Aston Villa105321715218
7Tottenham HotspurSpurs1051422111116
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton104421714316
9Fulham104331413115
10Bournemouth104331312115
11Newcastle UnitedNewcastle104331010015
12Brentford104151920-113
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd10334912-312
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham103251319-611
15Leicester CityLeicester102441418-410
16Everton102351017-79
17Crystal Palace10145813-57
18Ipswich TownIpswich100551021-115
19Southampton10118719-124
20Wolverhampton WanderersWolves100371427-133


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!