OPINION
Tottenham must cash in on Josh Onomah in 2019 after he returns from his loan spell at Sheffield Wednesday – even if it means upsetting some of the club’s supporters who love to see young talent rise into the first team.
Onomah, 21, was one of the more highly-rated youth products in N17 and has already made 32 appearances across all competitions for Spurs.
Last season he was sent out on loan to Aston Villa, but did not really have the best of times as he failed to impress in most of his 37 appearances in the West Midlands.
Over the summer it become apparent that Mauricio Pochettino had no plans to use Onomah in his first team and he was again sent out on loan, this time to Sheffield Wednesday, who with respect, are probably a step down from 2017/18 play-off finalists Villa.
Since heading to Hillsborough, the £30,000-a-week (Spotrac) Spurs midfielder has played just four times in the Championship and it is clear that he is struggling to make much of an impression in the bigger second-tier clubs – and that is exactly why Spurs should get rid of him next year.
Onomah’s current contract expires in 2021 so his stock will still be quite high next summer and another year of playing in the Championship or playing for Spurs’ Under-23s will see his value fall.
Some Tottenham fans are bound to hate the idea of offloading one of their youth products, especially as he was once so highly-rated, but there is just no way he is ever going to get into Pochettino’s senior squad on a consistent basis with Harry Winks now well ahead of him in the pecking order.
It will be best for all parties though if they go their different ways and Onomah, as he is home-grown, could surely pocket Spurs a decent fee from a Premier League team outside of the top-six.