Two talented Tottenham midfielders very ‘intrested’ in signing new contracts

The two members of the Tottenham Hotspur academy have committed their immediate future to the organization by signing new contracts for the next season.

According to gamehuz, Matthew Craig and Nile John have both signed new contracts with Tottenham Hotspur.

There was considerable uncertainty about what would happen to the two 20-year-old youngsters as their contracts were about to expire because Romaine Mundle, a player from the same development group, had accepted a job offer from Standard de Liege rather than accept one from Spurs. However, according to football.london, John has signed a two-year contract while Craig has agreed to a three-year one.

In the final day triumph at Leeds United in May, Craig made his Premier League debut. After a season in which he was one of the top players on the development squad, the versatile Scotland U21 player—who can play as a defensive midfielder, in central defense, or as a full back—got his due.

He played in all 28 of the U21s’ games in all competitions last season, starting every one of them, and he also participated four times as captain in the U19 UEFA Youth League. He also made 28 appearances overall at that level.

John has been at Spurs since the age of seven and made his first team debut two years ago in the Europa League. Despite interest from elsewhere, he was conspicuous by his absence in the list of players released by the club this month, which contained fellow development squad members Jamie Bowden, Kallum Cesay, Malachi Fagan-Walcott, Roshaun Mathurin, Marqes Muir and Romaine Mundle as well as U18s Thomas Bloxham, Brandon Bryan-Waugh and Riley Owen following the conclusion of their scholarships.

Clubs across Europe had been keeping a close eye on the versatile midfielder, with football.london reporting earlier in the season that Brighton, Basel and Cercle Brugge had been among those showing interest at various points, as his contract ran towards its conclusion, while he also drew praise from the coaches of Spurs’ various opponents in the UEFA Youth League this season for his displays in the centre of the pitch.

An offer of a new deal was tabled for John earlier in the season but recent struggles for young players to break into the first team at Tottenham have caused a few academy youngsters to rethink their futures in previous seasons. The hope at the club is that under new head coach Ange Postecoglou that will change with a better pathway from the academy to the first team.

John made his debut in 2021, at the age of 17, in a Europa League round-of-16 game against Wolfsberger AC, when Jose Mourinho gave him the nod off the bench. Ryan Mason, the interim manager, then selected the England U19 international to start on the bench for Spurs against Leicester City in the season’s last match.

John played lots of games during the subsequent preseason, with Nuno Espirito Santo giving him his first start in the Europa Conference League qualifier at Pacos de Ferreira despite playing him out of position in a front three. However, after Antonio Conte took over, John, who had been scoring goals left and right for the U21s, was unable to enter the Italian’s consideration and was sent on a fruitless loan to Charlton for the second half of the previous season in terms of minutes played in League One.

John has been a significant player for the U21s throughout this season, serving as their captain on times, and scoring three goals from midfield in 28 games. A January loan was always unthinkable given his contractual position.