I played with Harry Kane at Tottenham but starlet with ‘aura’ who scored hat-trick against Barcelona had everything
Tottenham are currently tasked with finding a successor to Harry Kane – but they once had a striker waiting in the wings who promised to be even better.
Shaq Coulthirst came through the Spurs academy system at a similar time to the England captain and once trod a similar path.
Coulthirst progressed through Tottenham’s academy
Coulthirst, one year Kane’s junior, announced himself with a hat-trick as Tottenham’s Under-19 side thrashed a Barcelona side featuring Adama Traore 4-1 in 2012.
His form in the NextGen Series, youth football’s then-version of the Champions League, reportedly caught the eyes of the Spanish giants and their rivals Real Madrid.
And just a year after his European treble, the teenager was making his senior Spurs debut in a 4-1 Europa League win against Anzhi Makhachkala, with an unproven Kane missing out through injury.
Burnley goalkeeper Lawrence Vigouroux, who was in the Tottenham youth set-up at the same time, lifted the lid on Coulthirst.
During an exclusive interview with talkSPORT.com earlier this year, Vigouroux said: “In the year above we had Harry Kane, Alex Pritchard, Ryan Fredericks.
“We had a player, Shaquile Coulthirst, he played for the first team a few times he was unbelievable. Unbelievable, youth team, unbelievable, Under-21s and then he had a couple of really bad injuries.”
Coulthirst helped Tottenham into the quarter-finals of the 2012/13 NextGen series
Vigouroux added: “He was honestly one of the best players that was there at the time and had a real aura – a presence about him, captain of the youth team.
“And then came up and played really young for the 21s team.
“Someone that, without the injuries, who knows what would have happened with him?
“Because he had everything going for him.”
Coulthirst was wanted by Barcelona and Real Madrid
A month after Coulthirst’s Tottenham debut, he even followed Kane’s path by joining Leyton Orient on loan.
Ironically having replaced Soldado against Anzi, it was the Spaniard’s misfiring form in the months that followed that opened the door for Kane to take the mantle as Tottenham’s striker and never look back.
Coulthirst struggled in part with injuries and form as he had spells at Torquay, Southend, York City, Wigan Athletic and Peterborough.
Rather less publicised was the reason behind Coulthirst’s decision to swap the Posh for non-league Barnet in 2017.
Coulthirst – scoring against the Blades – said his mum was his biggest fan
The forward made the move to the Hive to care for his mum Sonia after she fell ill – later taking time away from the game when she tragically passed.
A mark of how remarkable his resilience is, Coulhirst netted the winner for Barnet when they famously dumped then-Championship Sheffield United out of the FA Cup four months after her death.
He paid tribute to her in his celebration and later scored two in a thrilling 3-3 draw with Brentford in the next round before the Bees ended their Wembley dream in the replay.
Coulhirst is now into his third season at Ebbsfleet, having helped the Kent club into the fifth tier after clinching the National League South title in April.
And Vigouroux is still hopeful there’s more of his story left, having set an example after leaving Tottenham himself.
The goalkeeper spent time in the National League before returning to the Premier League with Burnley this summer after a record-breaking season with League Two champions Orient.
“Hopefully he can kick on because he still has a lot of time to get back into the league and make a really good career for himself.”
