Josh Keeley hints at a potential Tottenham Hotspur return in the future
Josh Keeley has spoken about the experience of facing Tottenham Hotspur just days after departing the club and has spoken about how the homegrown rule affected his chances of breaking into the first-team in North London.
The young goalkeeper impressed last term with Leyton Orient, being named the O’s young player of the season, while also leading them to the promotion play-off final, where they suffered defeat at the hands of Charlton Athletic.
Many Tottenham Hotspur fans were excited about what the future holds for the 22-year-old, with some reports even claiming earlier this summer that Keeley may be in line for a new contract at Spurs.
Instead, Tottenham accepted a £1m offer from Luton Town for Josh Keeley two weeks ago, and as fate would have it, he came up against the Lilywhites just days after signing for the League One side.
Josh Keeley explains the emotions of playing against Tottenham
The Republic of Ireland Under-21 international admitted that it was a strange feeling coming up against his mates just days after leaving N17.
However, he confessed that it worked out well as he had the opportunity to say his goodbyes to the Tottenham players and staff following the 0-0 draw at Kenilworth Road on Saturday.
When asked about coming up against his former side in a pre-season friendly, Keeley said (via Football.London): “It doesn’t happen very often! I knew when I joined that we had them a week later, but it was good. It was a good game. I got to see all the boys at the end, which was good.
“It was kind of a quick turnaround for me during the week, so I didn’t get to say goodbye to everyone, but yeah, I got to [after the game], and that was important. I think that is the life of a footballer. It is very unforgiving.
“At one point, you could be at the bottom of the country and then in the next breath, you’re in a different country. You just kind of have to accept these things and get yourself around the fact that you could end up anywhere.
“Luckily, with every loan I have been on, I’ve actually been around London, and obviously, this one is a permanent move. I am still quite close to [Tottenham] and I have made a lot of friends at the club and I am still very close to the boys.”
Keeley admits homegrown rule worked against him at Spurs
Many Spurs fans may have expected Keeley to be used as the third-choice goalkeeper next season following the departure of Fraser Forster.
However, as many pointed out, the youngster is not considered homegrown, having spent his formative years at St Patrick’s Athletic, which means that he would have taken on an overseas spot in Tottenham’s squad.
When asked if it was non-homegrown status that ended his chances of breaking through at Spurs, the shot-stopper said: “Maybe a little bit, I think so, but these are things, obviously a lot of things go against you in football, this is one of them but things happen for a reason at the end of the day. I am very close with a lot of people at the club, so you never know [what the future holds].”
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