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It's time to check in on those Tottenham Hotspur players winding down their loan moves across the English game and the continent
A handful of Tottenham's loan players have already played their final game of the 2023/24 season. With the term shortly drawing to a conclusion in the Premier League and across Europe ahead of a busy summer of football, the regular league campaign came to a close in the Championship over the weekend.
It was a weekend of high drama as Joe Rodon looked to achieve automatic promotion with Leeds United in their fight with fellow promotion contenders Ipswich Town, while Alfie Devine and Ashley Phillips battled for Championship safety with Plymouth Argyle. Although the regular EFL season has now come to an end, two of Tottenham's loan stars will be involved in the end-of-season play-offs over the coming days.
So how exactly did everyone playing away from Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on loan fare for their respective clubs over the past week? football.london takes a look at all of Tottenham's loan players below.
Tanguy Ndombele is closing in on another league title with Galatasaray edging closer to winning the Turkish Super Lig. Their latest victory came on Sunday as they defeated Sivasspor 6-1 at home.
Even though the game was over as a contest on the hour mark with Galatasaray 4-1 to the good, there was still no appearance from the bench for Ndombele. That means that he has been an unused substitute in five of their last six league games.
Currently leading fierce rivals Fenerbahce by six points with three games of the campaign still to play, Galatasaray could potentially clinch the title this weekend if they win away at Fatih Karagumruk and Fenerbahce drop points. If not, they will have a unique opportunity to claim the league crown the following weekend when Fenerbahce make the trip across the Turkish capital for what should be a mouth-watering Istanbul derby clash.
Djed Spence had the opportunity to play at the iconic San Siro Stadium on Sunday as Genoa left with a point in the bag following an entertaining 3-3 draw. In and out of the team since his January loan switch from Tottenham, the 23-year-old played the full game at right wing-back as Malick Thiaw's own goal saw the Liguria-based side claim a point.
There are three games left in Genoa's season, starting with a home encounter against Sassuolo on Sunday afternoon. Spence has so far made 13 appearances for Genoa, with seven of those starts for Alberto Gilardino's side.
Sergio Reguilon and Brentford recorded a point last Saturday as they were involved in a goalless London derby clash against Fulham. The Spaniard played the full game and he received a booking midway through the second half as the west London club bounced back to earn a point following their defeat at Everton the previous weekend.
The Bees have two more games left to go in their campaign, with an away match at Bournemouth to come on Saturday afternoon. Reguilon will then bring the curtain down on his time at the club with a home clash against Newcastle United on the final day of the campaign.
Alejo Veliz made his first appearance for Sevilla on Sunday since featuring in their 3-2 win over Real Sociedad at the beginning of March. Not even in the matchday squad in four of Sevilla's last six league games, the striker was introduced for the final six minutes of their 3-0 win over Granada.
The Argentine's loan spell at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium has not gone to plan but he will be looking to end his time in Andalusia on a positive note by at least featuring in their final four games. Safe from the drop and now having a realistic chance of finishing in the top half of the table, Sevilla face Villarreal, Cadiz, Athletic Bilbao and Barcelona in their final four games of the season.
Troy Parrott was back in the Excelsior Rotterdam team on Monday evening after serving a one-match suspension following his recent red card against Volendam. While the Republic of Ireland international did complete the full 90 minutes, it proved to be a day to forget for his team as they slipped to a 3-0 defeat at home to NEC Nijmegen.
It is a result that could have huge consequences come the end of the season as Excelsior are set to be involved in a relegation play-off game as things stand due to their position of 16th in the league standings. Trailing RKC Waalwijk by two points at present, Parrott and his team do still have the opportunity to move away from danger with a home match against Heracles and a tricky away fixture at Feyenoord to come in their final two league fixtures of the 2023/24 Eredivisie campaign.
Rodon and Leeds United will have to seal promotion to the Premier League via the Championship play-offs after missing out on an automatic spot on the final day of the campaign. Trailing Ipswich Town by three points going into their match, the Tractor Boys only needed a point to return to the top flight for the first time since 2002 and they achieved promotion in style by completely dominating Huddersfield Town in a 2-0 win.
Leeds, on the other hand, fell to a 2-1 defeat against Southampton at Elland Road, thus meaning a third-place finish and a play-off semi-final showdown against Norwich City, with the first leg taking place at Carrow Road on Sunday afternoon. Having a wretched record in the play-offs and coming into such important games on the back of two wins from their last eight league games, Rodon and Leeds need to rediscover their best form rather sharply if they are to be a Premier League club in the 2024/25 campaign.
Rodon was given a score of six out of ten by Leeds Live for his showing in the Southampton defeat. They wrote: "Never really exposed to too much of the really poor stuff in defence. Looked solid for the main part and kept Che Adams relatively under wraps."
It proved to be a mixed afternoon for Japhet Tanganga as his Millwall loan spell came to an end with a 1-0 win away at Swansea City. The centre-back was dismissed from the field of play in the 85th minute following a clash involving Swansea striker Jerry Yates.
It was something that didn't sit well with Millwall boss Neil Harris, who said in his post-match press conference that he was left "angered" by Yates' "punch" on his defender.
“At the time, I only saw Jerry Yates’ punch so he deserved to go. And it angered me," he said, as reported by Southwark News. "I’ve seen it back and there was a scuffle before it and I think that’s down to the [appeals] panel to decide if they both deserved to go.
“Japhet certainly said to me that he hasn’t swung a punch. But you have to be careful if you’re pushing players and how you do it and what’s interpreted by the referee.”
On Tanganga, he added: “Japhet Tanganga, that red card won’t sort of blight his Millwall record. And certainly not for me. He’s been exceptional. We need to add to the centre-half positions but again, that’s a conversation that needs to happen above me. But I get on brilliantly with Japhet and I’ll certainly stay in touch with him.”
Given a real relegation scare in February and turning to Harris to return as boss following Joe Edwards' dismissal, Millwall produced some brilliant results in the final few months of the season to move away from danger and achieve a 13th-place finish. Five successive victories in their final five games proved key to finishing within three points of the top half, with Tanganga playing a major role in their rise up the table.
Starting 17 of his 18 appearances for The Lions and proving that he can play consistently following an injury nightmare in recent seasons, the centre-back also contributed with goals in crucial wins over Southampton and Birmingham City. Tanganga also proved to be a very popular figure at the club, as can be seen from a video doing the rounds on social media from Millwall's end of season awards night.
Having his own chant to the tune of 'I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)' by The Proclaimers, Tanganga was lifted up in the air and carried on stage by all his teammates as they serenaded him. The defender recently spoke to football.london through SkyBet about his Millwall loan spell and what comes next in his Tottenham career. You can read the interview by clicking here.
It proved to be a successful weekend for Devine and Phillips as they helped Plymouth beat the drop on the final day of the Championship season. With their destiny in their own hands due to starting the day outside the relegation zone, the Pilgrims finished the season in 21st following a 1-0 win over play-off chasing Hull City.
Devine started the game in midfield and played 83 minutes of the contest, with Phillips playing the full 90 minutes in defence. The pair fared well in Plymouth Live's player ratings as they were both given a score of eight out of ten for their performances.
Following their moves to Home Park in January, Devine played 15 games for Plymouth and Phillips made 20 appearances. There is a possibility that they could be back playing in a Plymouth shirt once again next season as Plymouth Live have reported that Argyle have expressed an interest in the duo returning for the 2024/25 campaign.
Speaking after the win over Hull, Argyle director of football Neil Dewsnip said: "The loan players will obviously go back (to the parent clubs) but we are already in discussions to see if we can maybe access one or two of those to stay again next year, but we are very early in the discussions."
Although he didn't name Devine and Phillips, Dewsnip then confirmed those talks were about the Tottenham players.
Matthew Craig may soon have a date at Wembley Stadium on the calendar with Doncaster Rovers in an excellent position to make the League Two play-off final. Following such a devastating run of form in 2024 that saw them climb from just outside the relegation zone and into the play-offs, the South Yorkshire club sealed a 2-0 win away at Crewe Alexandra in the first leg of their play-off semi-final tie on Monday evening.
Craig did have a big impact on proceedings as he teed up Luke Molyneux for the opener with a low ball across the face of goal that his teammate converted. The youngster did make a huge impression on the pitch, thus earning a score out of nine out of ten in Doncaster Free Press following a "scintillating" display.
They wrote: "The Spurs loanee provided a classy pick-out for Molyneux but contributed so much more. Was scintillating. Punchy passes and tough in the tackle, he's destined for a future much higher up the pyramid - but hopefully still plenty to give Rovers before the season's out."
Craig did sustain a kick to the foot late on and made way on 84 minutes but Doncaster manager Grant McCann believes he will be "fine" for Friday's semi-final second leg encounter. If Craig and Doncaster do indeed make it to the play-off final, the game will be played at 1pm on Sunday, May 19 at Wembley Stadium.
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