Tottenham youngster Dylan Duncan, pictured here with Danny Rose and Kyle Walker, has been training with the England squad ahead of their friendly with Spain. Here’s his story.
In the beginning
This might make you feel old. Duncan was born on 25 January 1999 – five days before the publication of the infamous Glenn Hoddle interview with The Times which would cost the Spurs legend his job as England manager.
Hailing from Newham, east London, Duncan went to the Guru Gobind Singh Khalsa College – an independent faith school – in Chigwell, and was marked out as a talented footballer in his teens.
Baby Shrimper
Duncan was a youth player with Southend United, displaying his skills in midfield and attracting the attention of Tottenham.
In August 2014, he was part of the Spurs Under-16s squad which won the South Korea Cup and also featured in the Frenz Under-18 International Cup in Malaysia in January 2015, alongside the likes of Kyle Walker-Peters and Shayon Harrison.
Earning his Spurs
Duncan signed a formal deal with Tottenham in July 2015 and became a regular for the Under-18s last season, starting 17 games and coming off the bench a further six times.
He also made his Under-21s debut as a substitute in a 3-2 win at Norwich in October 2015.
European debut
Earlier this month, Duncan featured in the Uefa Youth League for the first time.
He played virtually the whole of the game as Spurs’ Under-19s beat Bayer Leverkusen 2-1.
England chance
With the national team using Spurs’ training base to prepare for the Spain friendly, opportunity knocked for Duncan when a couple of players sat out a session with injuries.
He was asked to join in training, following in the footsteps of Tottenham academy keepers Brandon Austin and Jonathan De Bie, who trained with Joe Hart, Tom Heaton and Jordan Pickford on Saturday.
