Spurs academy duo, Jamie Donley and Mikey Moore have been featuring together in Tottenham’s pre-season campaign, even combining against Vissel Kobe for the winner – and Donley hasn’t been short of praise for his 16-year-old teammate.
![Miikey Moore](https://www.spurs-web.com/static/uploads/1/2024/07/mikey-moore05.jpg)
Moore and Donley have been youth teammates
Jamie Donley and Mikey Moore have been two standout youth stars from Spurs’ pre-season campaign so far, although the latter has perhaps caught the eye more due to his two goals and one assist in four games, all at just sixteen years of age.
Donley is one of the members of the squad who would have been aware of Moore’s talent from a very young age, playing alongside him in 2022/23 with the Tottenham U18 team as Moore recorded seven goals and assists in ten appearances at just 15. (TransferMarkt)
The duo briefly crossed paths before pre-season playing for the club’s U21 side. Their connection was evident against Vissel Kobe in Japan when Mikey Moore met Donley’s low cross in order to hand Tottenham a late lead.
![Jamie Donley](https://www.spurs-web.com/static/uploads/1/2024/05/jamie-donley555-scaled.jpg)
Donley predicts Moore will go on to become a ‘special player’
When quizzed on his young teammate in an interview with Football.London, Donley stated: “He’s a special player. He’s obviously just got to keep his head down and keep working, but if he keeps going the way he’s going, he’ll be a special player.”
Donley concluded that the fact he has played alongside so many of the pre-season squad in the club’s youth teams has helped, explaining: “I think last year the way the U21s played and obviously we won a couple of trophies, I think that that helped a lot with the confidence and I think the first team know that we’re a good group of players, and I think it makes the young players feel more comfortable having more young players around them.
“You can bond with each other, and I think we’ve all done well. We’ve all impressed, so we don’t feel or look out of place.”
Spurs Web opinion
Donley’s closing statement on the youth players who have been part of the squad is exactly right, not one has looked out of place. It is likely due to the fact that there is such a high volume of young players, even for pre-season, which creates an easier environment to play and be comfortable in.
Regarding Mikey Moore, everyone can see from this pre-season that even though he is still so young, Moore will likely have a big part to play for Tottenham next season.
Donley does deserve praise too though as he has shone in an understated manner, adapting quickly and performing impressively as a left-back, despite being an attacking midfielder by trade.
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