Inside Futbol
·10 October 2024
Inside Futbol
·10 October 2024
Ian MacNicol/Getty Images
Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Alfie Devine has insisted he never intended to cut short his loan spell at Port Vale last term.
The Tottenham Hotspur starlet joined Port Vale on loan last season and quickly established himself as a key part of the Valiants’ side.
Vale were hoping to have the midfielder at their disposal for the whole campaign, as they had agreed, but Tottenham brought Devine back in the January transfer window and instantly sent him to Plymouth Argyle on loan.
Spurs were happy to see Devine step up to the Championship and though the midfielder was happy with the move, he insists he intended to see the season out with Port Vale.
“It didn’t cross my mind to go there [to Plymouth]”, he told the Athletic.
“I was very much set on finishing the season at Port Vale. I was now playing every week, and in a position I was enjoying.
“Then I got a call from ‘Fozzy’ [then Plymouth boss Ian Foster, ed] and it happened within a day.
“I didn’t need a Zoom call. I already knew the manager; how he played; what he wanted, around the building and in training. I’d been with him for almost three years [with England youth teams].
“For Tottenham, it was me getting a step up to the Championship.”
Devine, 20, made 20 appearances in League One for Port Vale, scoring twice and providing an assist.
He has been loaned out again this season, but not within English football as he is with Belgian outfit Westerlo.