Kazaiah Sterling named January PL2 Player of the Month

It’s been a big week for Tottenham Hotspur striker Kazaiah Sterling. The 20-year old, probably considered the closest academy striker to Spurs’ first team, was sent off on loan to League 1 Sunderland on the last day of the January transfer window, but is also being recognized for his performances with Spurs’ U23 squad.

Sterling was named as the Premier League 2 Player of the Month for January after both scoring and assisting in two PL2 matches last month.

Kaz has only made two appearances for Spurs’ first team, both brief cameos — against APOEL in last year’s Champions League, and at the end of Spurs’ FA Cup loss to Crystal Palace late last month. That said, he’s been training with Spurs’ first team for a while, and is a player that the Tottenham coaching staff apparently thinks very highly of.

The loan to Sunderland is the first of Kaz’s career, and he has a very good opportunity to get some quality minutes with the Black Cats after they sold their young star Josh Maja to Bordeaux in the past window. It will be a good challenge for Sterling, as he has yet to play significant first team football at any level, but he will be playing at the Stadium of Light for a big club in front of an even bigger fan base. It’s a huge opportunity, and if he has a good loan it could really be a springboard to propel his football career forward.

The problem for any young Spurs academy striker is that Harry Kane is a huge obstacle towards getting significant minutes at Spurs. But if Kaz can develop well on loan, it’s not crazy to think that he could play his way into a kit number with Spurs in the next year or so.