At long last, Roberto De Zerbi has his Tottenham Hotspur squad firing.
Three wins on the trot and a glut of goals, everything looks rather positive for the Lilywhites. However, there remains one hurdle for the outspoken Italian to clear.
That hurdle is 18-year-old Luca Williams-Barnett. Supporters are crying out for him to get more minutes but the manager is hesitant to use him.
Why? Well, given the form of Spurs’ forward line this season, it’s puzzling.
Why Williams-Barnett is struggling for first-team minutes
Williams-Barnett showcased in a matter of minutes against Crystal Palace that he is one of the best young players in England. He deserves more minutes.
The piece of play he engineered to supply that golden chance for Mohammed Kudus was jaw-dropping. On Premier League debut, the teenager danced around three or four Palace players before laying the ball on a plate for Kudus at the back post. The winger somehow missed.
Judging by that short cameo on Saturday evening, he should be playing more often. His form over pre-season dictated that.
The youngster was one of Tottenham’s most exciting players over the summer, notably scoring a Panenka penalty during a shoot-out victory over Sydney FC. He then rounded off their pre-season preparations by scoring against Hoffenheim.
Despite that, however, Williams-Barnett has only played 14 minutes of senior football in 2026/27.
Why is that the case? Well, his chances have been hampered by the sheer amount of transfer business Spurs completed over the summer.
While the Lilywhites missed out on the likes of Cody Gakpo and Iliman Ndiaye, they did sign Omar Marmoush and Savio. Mathys Tel, perhaps rather strangely, has also been preferred.
It would apear that De Zerbi is being cautious with the teenager as to not over expose him. Whether or not that is the right thing to do remains to be seen.
Not a single player in the Spurs squad this term has scored more than two goals so you can’t say that Williams-Barnett is struggling for minutes as a result of the form of his colleagues.
Whatever happens, the manager needs to show him and the rest of the academy that there is a pathway to the senior team.
Another Spurs wonderkid is starting to explode
With the World Cup disrupting every Premier League team’s pre-season preparations, it allowed De Zerbi a glimpse of a whole host of the club’s young players.
The likes of Williams-Barnett, Mikey Moore, Malachi Hardy, Tye Hall and Jamie Donley were all given an opportunity to prove themselves.
That said, while Moore actually started the campaign on the right flank and in fact, even scored against Charlton Athletic in the Carabao Cup, he was sent out on loan. It would appear he is having the same problems as Williams-Barnett with regards to earning De Zerbi’s trust.
The attacking duo are two of the finest players to emerge out of Hotspur Way in recent years but who is next off the conveyor belt?
Heard of 17-year-old Ollie Boast? If you have, you clearly know your stuff but we won’t begrudge you if you haven’t heard of him. Despite a seriously impressive start to the season, he’s not being talked about by many supporters.
Spurs have had a habit of producing exciting strikers in years gone by. From Harry Kane to the likes of Troy Parrott and Will Lankshear, all three are thriving after leaving north London behind.
Given the club’s woes in front of goal this term, failing to score in their first four league matches, they could do with them now.
Well, Boast may well be able to help in time. He is the next cab off the rank and he looks like an extremely exciting young centre-forward.
Signed from the Leeds academy where he scored ten goals in 20 U18 matches, he has exploded at academy level in 2026/27, much like Williams-Barnett did last term.
Tottenham’s academy darling scored 16 times in 19 youth-team games throughout 2025/26 and Boast is now following in his footsteps. So far this season, the teenager has scored 16 goals in 12 matches.
In the U18 Premier League, he has been the division’s best player, finding the back of the net on 15 occasions in just nine outings. He is a ruthless centre-forward, perhaps the most clinical we have seen since Kane trod the hallways of Hotspur Way.
While it would be extreme to suggest Boast is going to go on to win a Ballon d’Or, the future does look bright.
