Tottenham Hotspur loan watch: Ryan Mason impressive, Adam Smith makes debut

Though the Greatest League In The World ^TM may not yet have kicked off in earnest, a number of Spurs players have already enjoyed minutes away from the club as the Football League and cup competitions have gotten underway. In the first of what will evolve into a series as the season progresses, here is a brief look at how those players have been getting on thusfar.

The youngsters out on loan at Swindon have been exceptionally busy since the start of the season, with Massimo Luongo, Alex Pritchard, Ryan Mason and Grant Hall starting the League One opening tie against Peterborough. Though Swindon ended up stumbling to a tight 1-0 defeat, all four of the players were singled out for high praise amongst Swindon's online fan base, with Ryan Mason being cited as man of the match for his calmness on the ball and showing "signs of his attacking intent which will hopefully grow as the season progresses".

Hall, Mason and Pritchard, along with ex-Spurs Nathan Byrne and Jack Barthram, also featured in a 1-0 victory over Torquay, a fixture notable for seeing Pritchard wasting one of the key chances of the match in stepping up to take a penalty only to have it agonizingly saved by keeper Martin Rice.

Of the remaining loanees, Adam Smith made his first-team debut for Derby in a League Cup first round tie against Oldham Athletic on Tuesday night, playing 90 minutes in the 1-0 victory and being described by defender Jake Buxton along with the other debutants on the night as a "credit to the club". Last but (debatably) not least, Bongani Khumalo also featured and scored for Doncaster Rovers in a Capital One Cup clash against Rochdale, with his late header sealing a narrow 1-0 victory for Dickov's men.