View: De Zerbi may have uncovered new Tottenham gem who's been promoted after signing new contract

Tyler Tingey has been spotted taking part in first-team training at Tottenham Hotspur, as Roberto De Zerbi’s side prepare to take on Brighton.

The youngster signed his first professional contract with the Lilywhites just over a week ago, with his appearance with the first-team squad indicating that De Zerbi could be keen to utilise the youngster at some point before the season’s end.

De Zerbi arrived at the club over the international break, handed the immediate task of dragging Spurs to safety after a dismal term in North London.

The Italian would watch his side fall to defeat on his first day in the dugout, with a deflected Nordi Mukiele strike seeing Sunderland secure a 1-0 victory against Tottenham.

Looking to pick up their first win of 2026, the North London outfit welcome De Zerbi’s former club, Brighton, to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Tyler Tingey involved in Roberto De Zerbi training session

With the nature of the ongoing campaign in mind, Spurs have found it difficult to lean on their academy this season.

While Tottenham have handed plenty of opportunities to players aged 21 and under – Archie Gray, Mathys Tel and Lucas Bergvall – only 26 Premier League minutes have been handed to academy-developed players, with consistent chances hard to come by as the Lilywhites have slumped towards the wrong end of the standings.

All of Callum Olusesi, James Rowswell, Luca Williams-Barnett and Jun’ai Byfield have racked up minutes this term, but this adds up to just 26 in total, while players aged 21 and younger have racked up 99 appearances between them.

This could be set to change, with exciting young defender Tingey spotted in training throughout the week.

Last Friday, it was confirmed that Tingey signed his first professional deal with Spurs, after captaining the Under-16s last season, before progressing to the Under-18 and Under-19 levels this time around.

With Tottenham locked in a relegation battle, they have not been able to hand as many minutes to the youngsters as they would have liked, but new boss De Zerbi will also have to keep an eye on the future of his squad, even as they battle to stay in the top flight.

Roberto De Zerbi will be keeping an eye out during survival battle

If this season has proven anything for Spurs fans, it’s that not even their senior players can be fully trusted to show up when the going gets tough.

On too many occasions, the Lilywhites have not just been outthought, but outfought. leaving them languishing at the wrong end of the standings.

With six matches remaining, De Zerbi is not just in charge of steering Tottenham to safety, but also taking the time to have a long and hard look at just who he can trust moving forward.

There is an excellent young core at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, while Mikey Moore and Alfie Devine have also impressed out on loan at Rangers and Preston respectively.

And while he is not an academy graduate, the stature of defender Luka Vuskovic continues to grow after his sensational loan spell with Bundesliga outfit Hamburg.

There could be a mass exodus on the cards over the summer, with multiple big names set to leave. But this could be a blessing in disguise as Spurs look to reset the culture completely.

And for De Zerbi, he will take the time to find out just who he wants with him as he looks to kick-start the new era.

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