Tottenham Hotspur have long been known for their ability to spot and develop exciting young talent. Over the years, they have produced stars who have gone on to achieve great things in the football world. Perhaps the most notable examples in recent history are Gareth Bale and Harry Kane. Bale arrived at Spurs as a raw 17-year-old and, after six years of development, left for a record £85m to join Real Madrid. Kane, on the other hand, joined the club’s youth ranks at just 11 years old and eventually became one of the Premier League’s greatest goal scorers, securing a move to Bayern Munich for £86.4m last summer at the age of 30. Even today, Spurs continue to nurture young talent, with emerging prospects like Mikey Moore and Lucá Williams-Barnett making strides within the club’s youth setup. If these players continue on their current trajectories, they could one day become first-team regulars, and should they leave, they could fetch significant transfer fees as well.
However, not every talented player at Spurs manages to break into the first team. Some slip through the cracks and go on to shine elsewhere. One such player is Noni Madueke, who departed the Tottenham academy in 2018. Madueke has since become a rising star, drawing comparisons to Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka and surpassing Spurs’ current attacking talents like Son Heung-min and Dejan Kulusevski in terms of goal-scoring this season.
Spurs’ Departures in 2018: A Mixed Bag of Success
Before delving into Madueke’s impressive rise, let’s take a look at a few other notable departures from Spurs in the summer of 2018. Some, like Kyle Walker, left the club and found tremendous success, while others, like Clinton N’Jie, had more mixed careers.
Walker had been at Spurs since 2009, making 229 appearances for the club before his £50m move to Manchester City in 2017, which set a record for a defender at the time. At City, Walker went on to win everything, including six Premier League titles, four League Cups, two FA Cups, a FIFA Club World Cup, and the UEFA Champions League, completing a historic treble. His success at City stands as one of the high points of Spurs’ decision to let him go.
On the other hand, Clinton N’Jie, who left the club in 2017, has had a less illustrious career. After a few seasons in France, Russia, and Turkey, N’Jie is now playing in Romania with FC Rapid Bucharest, struggling to find consistent form. This contrast highlights how not every player who leaves Spurs finds the same level of success, and sometimes, letting go of a talent doesn’t always pay off.
But among the departures of 2018, one stands out not just for his potential but for the impressive way he’s making a name for himself now: Noni Madueke.
Noni Madueke: The One That Got Away
Noni Madueke was one of the most promising prospects in Tottenham’s youth system before he left in 2018 to join PSV Eindhoven. Since then, Madueke has made his senior debut at PSV and earned a £29m move to Chelsea in January 2023. His journey from North London to the Dutch Eredivisie and then to Chelsea has been a testament to his skill and potential.
What makes Madueke’s departure particularly notable is the comparisons being made between him and one of the Premier League’s brightest young stars, Bukayo Saka. The comparison has gained traction due to data from FBref, a platform that compares players in similar positions across Europe’s top leagues. According to the platform, Madueke ranks as the ninth most similar attacking midfielder or winger to Saka over the past year, based on key metrics like non-penalty goals, shots on target, successful take-ons, tackles won, and ball recoveries per 90 minutes.
This comparison has been further solidified by Madueke’s form this season. With five goals to his name, he’s being outscored only by Dominic Solanke and Brennan Johnson among players in similar attacking roles, and he’s level with Spurs’ own James Maddison. His goal tally comfortably surpasses that of Spurs’ key attackers, including Son Heung-min, Dejan Kulusevski, and Richarlison, who have all struggled to match his current output.
Madueke’s success at Chelsea and his rising profile in European football are a reminder of the fine margins that exist when it comes to nurturing young talent. While it’s impossible for any club to keep hold of every promising player in their academy, looking at Madueke’s impressive performances this season, one can’t help but wonder whether Spurs regret not being able to retain him.
The Future: Can Spurs Learn from the Madueke Situation?
Ultimately, Tottenham’s academy has produced an array of talented players over the years, but not all of them have made it to the first team or reached their full potential at the club. Some, like Madueke, have gone on to flourish elsewhere, leaving Spurs to reflect on their youth development strategies. However, Spurs have a rich history of identifying young talent and developing them into world-class players, and the hope is that with emerging stars like Mikey Moore and Lucá Williams-Barnett, they will continue to build on that legacy.
As for Madueke, his rise serves as both a source of pride for those who saw his potential at Spurs and a reminder of how competitive the world of football is. For Tottenham, the challenge is to ensure that they hold onto their best talents and provide them with the opportunities they need to shine. Given Madueke’s current form, it’s clear that Spurs could have benefited from keeping him on their books. But if anything, his success only reinforces the importance of nurturing and retaining the next generation of stars.