How Spurs turned around their struggling academy by signing the best kids on the planet

They get behind Tottenham's exciting crop of youngsters and have . . . an exciting group of young people.

Micky van de Ven, Destiny Udogie, Pape Matar Sarr and Brennan Johnson are all 22 years old or younger.

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Even Dejan Kulusevski – with 81 Spurs appearances since his arrival in January 2022 – is still only 23.

But they are all first-team regulars for the north London club, making boss Ange Postecoglou's squad the third youngest in the Premier League.

The average age of the entire squad is 25 years and four months – the same as rivals Arsenal, with only Burnley and Chelsea coming in younger.

But there is a rejuvenation project taking place among the first team, which the fans are also optimistic about.

The Spurs have been quietly adding teenage prospect after prospect to prepare themselves for the future.

That has seen them fly in red-hot talent from abroad, such as last week's inclusion of Swedish sensation Lucas Bergvall, 18, from Djurgarden.

Midfielder Bergvall looked all set to join Spanish giants Barcelona, ​​but changed his mind and saw more of a path to the first team at Spurs.

Tottenham have also looked to the domestic academy market to strengthen their ranks – Will Lankshear, now 18, joined from Sheffield United in 2022 – as they have made renewed efforts to prevent their own whiz kids from being poached.

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Last summer, Spurs successfully secured one of their most high-profile kids: 16-year-old Mikey Moore.

Former football director Fabio Paratici fueled this new focus on youth by convincing Spurs chairman Daniel Levy to spend more money on signing academy players.

The Italian resigned last April after being suspended for his role in the financial scandal at former club Juventus.

After part of his suspension was lifted, Paratici has continued to work with Tottenham on a consultancy basis.

Fifth-placed Spurs are doing well in the Premier League, but they are doing even better in Premier League 2, the Under-21 equivalent of the top flight. That means the reserves, in old money.

They sit top of the table and have won all eleven games, with Lankshear scoring eleven goals and Jude Soonsup-Bell, twenty and signed from Chelsea, on eight.

In the Under-18 rankings, Spurs are also top for the south of the country, although they have lost three games.

Despite all these developments and the fact that Tottenham are making progress on Postecoglou's desire to make them the destination for the best young players in the world, the Australian believes the club's academy is still far from where he wants it to be.

The former Celtic boss, 58, said ahead of Spurs' 2-2 draw at Everton last time out: “We've got a lot of work to do in our academy – and (academy director) Simon Davies is certainly someone who puts a lot of emphasis and priority there.

“I don't think we have the production line that other top clubs have, certainly not.

“That's why even at the moment we are investing in some younger players, even for the first team.

“For us as a football club, that is absolutely the way forward.”