Tottenham have the chance to lift the Under-17 Premier League Cup once again after reaching the final for the third time in four seasons.
Spurs Under-18s boss Stuart Lewis led the club's youngsters to the trophy in 2023 when they beat Nottingham Forest in the final. They had lost to Manchester City at the final hurdle in the previous campaign.
Now they will take their place in the final once again after Wednesday evening's dominant 5-0 victory against Derby County and either Manchester United or Charlton Athletic lie in wait after their semi-final next month.
The injury crisis hitting Ange Postecoglou's first team has had a knock-on effect throughout the age groups with many of Wayne Burnett's Under-21s called up to the bench for senior matches and in turn the Under-21s have called up various Under-18s players.
That meant the Lewis' Under-18s side has mainly contained first year scholars and Under-16s players and they have done well to sit fifth in the Under-18s Premier League table despite competing with such a young squad.
However, the Under-17 cup allows the youngsters to take on opponents of a similar age and Spurs' quality has shone through.
"It’s a really important competition for us," said Lewis. "It allows us to judge the boys physically in a competitive environment where age-wise it’s perhaps slightly more of an even playing field compared to some of the Under-18 matches we play. We’ve spoken a lot this season about how young our youth team is and so it’s really valuable for the boys to go up against teams of a similar age range, and they’ve really shown their quality over the course of the campaign."
Against Derby on Wednesday night, George Feeney netted just four minutes in, with Under-16s player Dexter Oliver adding a double to make it 3-0 at the interval.
Luca Williams-Barnett, who has been on Postecoglou's bench this season, then scored before Ellis Lehane rounded off the win six minutes from time.
"It was a really proud day for myself, the staff and all the players," said Lewis. "It was a really outstanding team performance and to score five goals and keep a clean sheet in a semi-final is a huge positive. It was a great reaction following the defeat in the FA Youth Cup last Thursday and I’m proud of the character shown by the group.
"We've taken a lot from the whole campaign, where the players have shown growth and development. It’s been a tough competition, but we want to win it so we’re all looking forward to the final now, which promises to be another really important evening for the academy and the club as a whole.
"It's obviously a competition that means a lot to myself and everyone here. During the cup campaigns we’ve had in recent years where we’ve reached finals – and won it two years ago – there have been players within those teams who have gone on to make first team debuts for us or gone out on loan and really made an impact, so the exposure we get to these big evenings under the lights is vital. It’s a great tournament for us and hopefully we can go on to win the final."
Discussing the future of Tottenham's bright young stars & what changes Ange Postecoglou should make for Ipswich. Click here to listen to the latest episode of Gold & Guest Talk Tottenham
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