A couple of days ago we heard a report from the Glasgow Times that Celtic had a strong interest in taking Tottenham U23 player Alfie Devine. That article made it sound as though Celtic had the edge in purchasing Devine from Spurs.
Guess not! According to Alasdair Gold, Devine is currently at Preston North End, the club where he spent the whole of last season on loan, completing a medical ahead of a permanent transfer.
Devine clearly had a nice time at Preston, and they could I’m sure say the same. Devine had 8 goals and 6 assists last season in the championship — pretty good numbers. Devine is now 21 and at the point where he either needs to break through into Spurs’ first team thoughts, or consider a move elsewhere. Clearly both parties have decided that a permanent move is the way to go.
Alasdair Gold doesn’t mention wages or a transfer fee. The previous report said Spurs value Devine at £6m, and I’d have to think there will probably be a modest be a sell-on clause inserted in there as well, though I don’t have any evidence to prove it yet. That’ll no doubt come out with time. It’s clear however that with a path to the first team now blocked, Devine’s future lies a division down. It wouldn’t surprise me one bit however if we eventually see him playing in the Premier League in the future.
