U23 midfielder Jack Roles signs new Tottenham contract

There’s good news on the U23 front! According to both @lilywhite_rose and Football.london’s Alasdair Gold, Tottenham U23 central midfielder and academy product Jack Roles has agreed to a new contract extension at Spurs and has committed his future to club.

You might not of heard of Roles unless you’ve been following the youth teams closely, but he’s a solid talent with an even better goal scoring record for Tottenham’s U-squads. This season as a 20-year old he chipped in 11 goals and 6 assists in all competitions for the U23s. Two years ago he was an even more prolific scorer with the U18s, plonking in 17 goals and 4 assists, a stat that got him up to #9 on our 2017 list of Tottenham prospect ratings. (And if you ask me, that rating was low.) He’s good at scoring from non-advanced positions as a central midfielder, and if that sounds to you a bit like what Dele Alli did at MK Dons, yeah I thought so too.

It’s been an open secret that Roles was feeling frustrated with his lack of opportunities at Spurs and had been putting off signing a new contract; he had been coveted by a bunch of different teams, including some Premier League sides. Apparently he’s going out on a season-long loan next year, which will be a great experience for him and will give him a chance to prove that he can excel in first team football.

Does Roles have a future at Spurs? Unclear. Does he deserve a good loan and a chance to prove himself? Absolutely. Academy-watches love Jack and tip him for big things, so this is a really positive development. We’ll learn more about where he’ll be playing his football next season soon.