Dane Scarlett was seriously impressed with Tottenham Hotspur loanee Alfie Devine after a match-winning performance for Port Vale.
Devine took to social media to celebrate a dramatic 2-1 win over Oxford yesterday. Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou had some big decisions to make when it came to his young players this season.
There are some incredibly talented youngsters at the club but the size of the first-team squad has limited their opportunities in recent years.
Alfie Devine was at the club last season but made just one senior appearance in the FA Cup.
Dane Scarlett was on loan at Portsmouth but has impressed Postecoglou during his short time at the club. However, the decision was made to loan Devine and Scarlett out with the former joining League One side Port Vale.
Scarlett stepped up to the Championship with Ipswich Town but was lavishing his young Spurs teammate with praise yesterday.
Devine couldn’t have asked for his latest appearance to have gone much better and will hope that Postecoglou was watching back at Spurs.
Scarlett impressed with Devine at Port Vale
Port Vale manager Andy Crosby turned to Devine in the 68th minute with the game still goalless.
However, six minutes later Devine delivered a free-kick that was headed in by Alex Iacovitti.
Oxford scored a 93rd minute equaliser but the drama didn’t end there, with defender Greg Leigh sent off two minutes later.
Just shy of the 100th minute, Devine stepped up to take the Port Vale penalty and dispatched it with ease, scoring a goal young teammate Scarlett would have been proud of.
The youngster took to Instagram after the match and said: “What a day! First league assist and goal, fans top as usual @officialpvfc.”
Dane Scarlett replied and said: “Let’s go,” and was delighted for the 19-year-old yesterday.
Devine was impressing in Tottenham training before going out on loan and is carrying that form into his first League One campaign.
The fact that his more experienced teammates trusted the teenager to take such a huge penalty is a sign of his ability to deal with pressure.
Already an England youth international, Devine has a huge future ahead of him and will hope that his performances over the next year earn him a place in Tottenham’s first team next season.
