Is Cristian Ceballos Tottenham's most promising youth starlet?
by Dan Coombs
@hitcdancoombs
2posted: 1 day ago
Cristian Ceballos inspired Tottenham's under-21 side to their latest victory earlier today. Is he their most exciting prospect?
Tottenham have some real talent at their disposal in their youth ranks, very arguably the best of any English club.
Despite Aston Villa's NextGen success, Tottenham's cause was hurt by the loaning out of key players like Alex Pritchard from their team competing for Europe's under-19 competition.
In the Premier League's under-21 competition, Spurs are the cream of the crop so far, 10 points clear in the Elite Group stage of the competition.
As Tottenham's own website states, this is despite loaning out 13 players who have played for the side this season.
They beat Liverpool 3-1 earlier today, a side with their own designs on the trophy, and there were two goals from Spanish starlet Cristian Ceballos.
Ceballos is a player in form, scoring twice in a 4-0 win a week previous against West Bromwich Albion.
It takes Ceballos' season total for the under-21 side to 13 goals, with eight assists to his name too.
At 20-years-old, he is at the stage where he needs to be doing what he is. Anything less and his final chance may have passed him by at a club at such a top level as Tottenham.
Ceballos' form is so good that he really deserves the opportunity to play first team football, whether that be at Spurs or on loan somewhere next season if his development is to continue.
A former Barcelona trainee, the Spaniard is a striker who prefers to drop deep, and while left-footed is adaptable enough to play on either flank.
With Spurs having a dearth of wide options in the first team at present after Bale and Lennon, they could do worse than place him on the bench.
But is he Spurs' most promising youngster?
In truth there are a number of players who can lay claim to that title. The aforementioned Alex Pritchard is the most highly rated of any English player, but his loan spell at Peterborough which was hoped to see him kick on has been a bust due to injury.
Shaquille Coulthirst is next, the striker who combined devastatingly with Pritchard to beat Barcelona away in the Nou Camp, bagging a hattrick.
Along with England under-21 star Tom Carroll, Coulthirst had a place on the bench at the San Siro a few weeks back, showing just how close he is to the first team.
In attack both Jon Obika and Harry Kane are in the queue too, although both are fighting fore their breakthroughs which have not been forthcoming this season despite a lack of options in attack, with mixed loan spells.
Adam Smith at right-back is another promising youngster, impressing on loan at Millwall, while Ryan Mason was dominating with the under-21s before his loan with Lorient, which has not seen him play a single game, while Iago Falque has impressed too. This is not to mention the on loan Andros Townsend nor teenager Souleymane Coulibaly.
At present Ceballos may just be the man in form, and is an exciting prospect, and it speaks volumes about the talent available to Spurs that despite his superb performances it is hard to label him as their most promising youth star, simply because there are so many superb players trying to breakthrough.
Keep an eye on the name, because if he continues like this he may just make himself impossible for Andre Villas-Boas to ignore.
