Tottenham youngster training with England squad

There’s a new Tottenham player in the England set-up, and it’s almost certainly not who you think. Tottenham Hotspur U18 midfielder Dylan Duncan was called up to train with the England senior squad ahead of their friendly match against Spain tomorrow.

Duncan, just 17, was chosen to help fill out the England roster after Harry Kane was sent back to Tottenham, and Wayne Rooney & Ryan Bertrand both sidelined with knocks. England were training at Tottenham’s Hotspur Way facilities ahead of the Spain match instead of St. George’s Park.

Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images

We’ve talked about players like Marcus Edwards, Kazaiah Sterling, Samuel Shashoua, and even Juan Pablo González Velasco. We haven’t written much about Dylan Duncan at Cartilage Free Captain, mostly because he really wasn’t on our radar at all. Duncan is a midfielder who was a mainstay on Spurs’ U18 squad this past season, making 23 appearances and starting 17 matches. He recently cracked Tottenham’s U21 squad and has been quietly impressing Spurs’ academy coaches.

So when Gareth Southgate needed an extra player to round out a training side, he asked Spurs U21 manager Ugo Ehiogu to choose someone. Ehiogu tapped Duncan. It speaks to Duncan’s ability that he was given the opportunity to train at the highest of levels for his country, even though he is at minimum several years away from earning a true England cap, or even cracking Tottenham’s first team.

I can’t say that I’ve heard much about Duncan ahead of this story or can remember watching him play, but the kid apparently has the goods. He’s now a name to keep an eye on, and one suspects that he’ll suddenly have a few more opposition scouts looking his direction in future months.