Tottenham Hotspur have signed a defender! OK, for the U23s. According to Football.London, Spurs have acquired 19-year old fullback Marcel Lavinier as a free agent, after he was released from Chelsea this summer.
What do I know about this kid? Nothing, except that he was listed as “TRIALIST” in a couple of U23 games earlier this month. He’s the second free agent defender trialist Spurs have signed this summer, after signing Sheffield United academy product Keenan Ferguson last month.
I have literally no problem with these kinds of signings. They’re like lottery tickets — you spend a small amount of money and see if you get lucky with a couple of these youngsters who may be late bloomers. A lot of times they don’t pan out, or they settle at the EFL level, and that’s okay. But every so often you end up with a Japhet Tanganga, or a Oliver Skipp, or even a Marcus Edwards. It’s worth it to make those lottery signings and we should continue to do so.
No clue if Lavinier is going to amount to anything at Tottenham, but the youth academy coaches seem to think there’s something there, and who am I to argue?