Jamie Donley, a midfielder for Tottenham Hotspur and academy graduate, made his club debut against Manchester City, appeared in four (brief) first team games, and played a significant amount of minutes in the Premier League 2 last season. This upcoming season, he will probably go on his first loan ever. Matty gave you an update last week regarding Championship promoters Oxford United’s interest in him, but it appears he will have a few alternatives for where he plays football in the upcoming season.
According to Alasdair Gold in Football.London, Donley is currently of interest to Luton Town, and to Birmingham City. Luton, of course, were relegated from the Premier League this past season and are now attempting to rebuild back in the second level. Birmingham City would present a different challenge; they were demoted to League One in the previous season after a tumultuous campaign, and they had only appointed Ange Postecoglou’s top assistant, Chris Davies, as head coach in June. League One would be a lower level of competition, but Davies will be familiar with Donley’s abilities, and there are rumors that he may try to use some of Postecoglou’s high-octane strategies at City.
The optimum kind of loan club for young players is a perennial debate. Some claim that sending a player on loan to a team (like Luton?) that is anticipated to be competitive in the league is a bad idea since managers will occasionally pass up on-loan talent in favor of older, more seasoned players if there is a prize involved. On the other hand, teams fighting for relegation might say the same thing.
- I don’t know, but it seems promising that Donley is well-regarded enough that two Championship and one comfortable League One club are interested in signing him, which should help his progress and prospects of playing a big role in the upcoming campaign. Nevertheless, loans are peculiar and don’t usually turn out well. Let’s see where Donley chooses to go, and let’s send him there with our best wishes (along with a lucky huge horseshoe).