Tottenham repeat Arsenal’s William Saliba trick to solve potential Ange Postecoglou problem

Tottenham’s domestic player count for the 2024–25 Premier League season will see a nice increase.

Tottenham’s numbers in the domestic Premier League for the 2024–25 season appear to be getting a boost. Ange Postecoglou’s 25-man roster, which was presented to the Premier League on Wednesday, included eight indigenous players and 17 foreign players.

However, the 25-man party was noticeably missing first-team players like Pape Matar Sarr and Destiny Udogie. Their omission was justified by the fact that they are both considered under-21 players and are therefore exempt from being featured on the main list because of their age.

They will no longer be considered under-21 players after the 2024–25 season because they will need to have been born on or after January 1, 2003. On Thursday, Sarr became 21 years old; Udogie will turn 21 on November 28.

Despite being born in Thiaroye, Senegal, Sarr will be able to be categorized as a homegrown player starting with the upcoming season.According to Premier League League rules, a “Home Grown Player” is defined as a player who has been registered with any club affiliated with The Football Association or the Football Association of Wales for a period of three full seasons, or 36 months, before his 21st birthday (or the end of the season during which he turns 21), regardless of nationality or age.

Before their match against Crystal Palace, Roy Hodgson praises Arsenal

Sarr, who joined Tottenham from Metz in the summer of 2021, is currently in his third season with the club. Even though he instantly signed a season-long loan agreement with the French club after moving to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, he was still listed as an under-21 player on their list for the 2021/22 season.

The Senegal international, who is on the list again in 2022–23 and is currently playing this season, will be considered a homegrown player the next season because he was registered as a Tottenham player for a minimum of three seasons prior to turning 21 or at the end of the season in which he turns 21. Spurs and Postecoglou will be encouraged by the news, as the team has previously struggled with large numbers of non-homegrown players.

Unfortunately, Udogie is an exception to this rule because he only signed from Udinese this summer, which means he will only have played for Tottenham for two seasons before turning 21. Instead, starting in 2024/25, the left back will take his spot on the non-homegrown list.

Some Spurs supporters in north London may have observed that despite being from France and Brazil, respectively, Gabriel Martinelli and William Saliba are listed on Arsenal’s 25-man list for the 2023–24 season as homegrown players. While Saliba joined Arsenal a few weeks after his teammate, Martinelli has remained with the club since his July 2019 transfer to the Emirates Stadium. Saliba, however, spent three consecutive seasons on loan until making his way back in the summer of 2022.

The France international and Martinelli, who were both listed as under-21 players before this season, are now considered homegrown athletes because they were registered as Arsenal players for three straight seasons before turning 21. Spurs will now benefit from the same regulation since Sarr is expected to be considered a homegrown player starting in the 2024–25 season.