Damola Ajayi registers with Spurs' U18 squad ahead of plans to sign a professional contract next year

NIGERIA-eligible teenager Damola Ajayi and 13 other promising youngsters have joined Tottenham Hotspur's U18 squad as fulltime first year scholars ahead of the new season with a view to becoming fully fledged professionals.

Under English Premier League rules, all under-17 players are required to start the season before they turn 18 on a scholarship deal before they are permitted to sign their first professional contracts. Abiding by this rule, Spurs announced their new intake of academy scholars on Friday, July 22.

Ajayi has already experienced U18s football, making his competitive debut off the bench in a 2-0 loss to Aston Villa on March 26, 2022 while still a schoolboy, before another substitute appearance during a 2-1 win at Reading. Apart from the U18 Premier League, Ajayi is also eligible to represent Tottenham Hotspur in the UEFA Youth League, FA Youth Cup and Premier League Two next season and can be registered as a scholar on Spurs Premier League roster.

Over recent tears, the number of Nigerian teenagers coming through the academies of English Premier League clubs has ballooned. London clubs like Arsenal, Chelsea and West Ham in particular, have produced a significant number of these youngsters due to the high number of Nigerians living in the capital.