Tottenham youngster Dylan Duncan has told the club’s website it has been an “unreal” few weeks for him.
The midfielder, 17, was recently invited to train with the England squad ahead of the international against Spain – an indication of how highly he is rated.
Duncan has yet to make his senior debut but has impressed for Spurs at Under-18 level and has also played for the club’s development side.
“The last few weeks have been unreal. My experience with the England squad was amazing,” he said.
“I really learned a lot from it. I think it’s given me a lot of confidence in my game.”
Duncan’s immediate priority though is an FA Youth Cup third-round tie against Stevenage on Wednesday evening.
Tottenham were drawn as the home team but the game is being played at Stevenage’s Lamex Stadium, where Spurs’ Under-18s play home matches.
“We’re really looking forward to it – it’s something that we’ve been anticipating for a while because it’s one of the biggest tournaments in youth football,” he said.
“It’s knockout football as well so it’s the real deal – you’re looking to see if you can deal with the pressure and it’s a different feel to when you’re playing in the league because there’ll be a bigger crowd there in a proper stadium, under floodlights, so it should be a really good experience.
“We’re confident but we know Stevenage will be a good team. It will be a good test, especially because it’s at their place and a lot of their fans will be there but, as I said, we’re looking forward to the game a lot.”
Who is Dylan Duncan?
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 goalkeepers Brandon Austin and Jonathan De Bie, who trained with senior keepers Joe Hart, Tom Heaton and Jordan Pickford.
