FORMER Colchester Villa Youth Football Club youngster Jamie Donley has made his Premier League home debut for Spurs.
The talented 18-year-old striker, who scored a remarkable 175 goals for Villa’s under-eights, came on as a 89th-minute substitute for Spurs in their win over Newcastle United, on Sunday.
Donley replaced captain Son Heung-min in the latter stages of the hosts' 4-1 triumph, at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
A home debut for @jamiedonley9 🤍 pic.twitter.com/YldVe3Ez1u
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) December 10, 2023
It follows hot on the heels of Donley making his Premier League debut for Spurs in their 3-3 draw at champions Manchester City, seven days earlier.
Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou says Donley has been training regularly with his first-team squad.
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He said: "Certainly Jamie, I think he's developing. It's benefitted him training with us regularly now.
"He's a permanent fixture in here and within that context I think our next few games, if he keeps developing the way he is, he'll get an opportunity in a game as well."
Donley signed a new contract with Spurs in March that will run until 2027.
Donley played at Colchester Villa at a very young age before leaving them at the age of eight in the summer of 2013, to join Spurs.
Our captain makes way to a standing ovation 🤍
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) December 10, 2023
Let's go, Jamie! 🙌 #TOTNEW // 4-0 pic.twitter.com/cLulaa4b3v
The centre-forward’s final involvement for Villa was for their under-eight Blues team at the Cornard tournament, where the team won all six games, scoring 26 goals without conceding.
Donley, who was born in Antrim, Northern Ireland to a Northern Irish father and an English mother, has been with Spurs ever since and turned professional for the North London club in January, 2022.
The left-footed striker finished last season with 17 goals in 21 appearances for Tottenham’s under-18 side and has since featured for the club’s under-21 side, scoring in a Premier League 2 win over Liverpool.
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A keen table tennis player away from football, he has represented both England and Northern Ireland at youth level.
Donley starred for England Under-19s in their Marbella Cup success earlier this season.
He scored twice against Romania and then bagged a last-minute winner against Japan 3-2, before netting twice in their 7-1 triumph against Mexico.
Donley scored twice for Spurs under-21s in their 5-0 win at Colchester United in the Bristol Streets Motors Trophy, in September.
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