Alasdair Gold shares what Tottenham may be forced to do with Oliver Skipp next season

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Tottenham Hotspur may be forced to keep Oliver Skipp this summer due to the homegrown quota.

Eight players of the 25 man Premier League squad must be registered as homegrown, the same applies in European competitions.

Ange Postecoglou’s current homegrown options are being stretched ahead of next season and the midfielder could add to that.

Oliver Skipp’s Tottenham future

Heading into the game against Aston Villa on the weekend, Skipp has only been able to record four starts in the league under Postecoglou.

Midfield competition is perhaps as strong as it ever has been at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Yves Bissouma, Rodrigo Bentancur, James Maddison and Pape Matar Sarr are all ahead of Skipp in Postecoglou’s thinking.

But speaking on the Gold and Guest Talk Tottenham podcast, Alasdair Gold has suggested Skipp may need to be kept due to the homegrown technicality.

He said: ‘I wonder whether homegrown numbers are going to stuff Skippy next season. In terms of Spurs might have to keep him around because they’ve got so few kind of club-trained, homegrown players. But I think Skippy needs game time next season, to go somewhere and play as a number six, not as a makeshift number eight.’

Tottenham’s homegrown players

Going in to this season, the following players were listed as Tottenham’s homegrown inclusions:

• Brandon Austin
• Ben Davies
• Fraser Forster
• Brennan Johnson
• James Maddison
• Ryan Sessegnon
• Oliver Skipp
• Alfie Whiteman

Looking ahead to the summer, it could be a fair assumption to think out of those players, Ryan Sessegnon could be a potential departure.

This could leave one spot to be filled and there have been some strong links to Chelsea’s Conor Gallagher who could do just that.

However, Spurs have also enjoyed an encouraging year with their youth prospects shining in the academy.

Although he may play a different role, someone like Jamie Donley could be seen as a player who could be promoted to the squad and fill that spot if Skipp was to leave.

Donley has impressed massively for the U21s this season, and if he doesn’t get the encouragement of more gametime, he may consider his future elsewhere.

Some big decisions await Postecoglou ahead of the summer window, but he’s got a lot right so far to suggest he’ll make the right choices.