Tottenham Hotspur have added to their sea of outgoing loans with a deal for Alfie Whiteman’s next move now agreed.
The Lowdown: Busy Paratici
Fabio Paratici was hard at work shifting some of the deadwood and fringe players in Antonio Conte’s squad last month, with Dele Alli leaving permanently while Giovani Lo Celso, Tanguy Ndombele, Jack Clarke and Bryan Gil all left on temporary moves, per Transfermarkt.
One man who initially stayed put however was Whiteman, having returned to north London after a short spell with Swedish side Degerfors IF.
The 23 year-old had a torrid time in Scandinavia going by his numbers, producing just one clean sheet in 13 appearances, conceding 24 times. That hasn’t stopped interest from elsewhere though, and his next destination has now been confirmed.
The Latest: Deal done
Spurs have confirmed Whiteman will go back to Degerfors, completing the rest of the 2022 Swedish Allsvenskan season at the Stora Valla Stadium.
As per Swedish outlet Fotboll Direkt, translated by Sport Witness, the player’s agent revealed Whiteman had big interest from the United States.
“It will be clear in the next few days. Alfie is in the US now to go on loan to a club there. It will probably be announced shortly,” said Michael Kallbäck.
The agent did not specify a club, but did add everything ‘‘will be clear in the next few days” – that has proven to be the case, although not what Kallbäck first reported, with the ‘keeper now heading back to Sweden.
The Verdict: Highly rated
In truth, it doesn’t seem like Whiteman has a future with the Lilywhites. His contract expires this summer, and he is reaching the age where he needs to settle down and find a permanent home to strut his stuff.
The young shot-stopper has featured just once for Tottenham’s first team, and that was a mere eight-minute cameo during a 4-0 Europa League win against Ludogorets last season.
That is not to say he doesn’t have potential to develop into a solid option elsewhere though, with former Spurs ‘keeper Paul Robinson once revealing he is ‘impressed’ by Whiteman, who is a ‘massive Spurs fan’, adding that the club rate him very highly after they offered him two new contracts in the space of 12 months, per Football Insider.
The interest from multiple clubs both on the continent and across the Atlantic suggests Robinson’s praise is spot on too, but it just hasn’t worked out for the young talent with his boyhood club, with Conte already eyeing Sam Johnstone as a possible number two behind Hugo Lloris for next season.
One journalist says Spurs will “definitely” make a move for an “unreal” England international this summer…
