EXCLUSIVE: Sunderland add 'phenomenal' Tottenham prospect to striker target list

Sunderland may once again turn to the Tottenham academy to find talent as the search for a striker continues.

Dane Scarlett Tottenham - Sunderland interest /

Sunderland hold a significant interest in signing Tottenham striker Dane Scarlett this summer, we can exclusively reveal.

Scarlett has been highly regarded at Spurs for some time, although he has struggled to make goalscoring impacts during his loan spells in the football leave so far.

He did impress at Portsmouth in League One during the 2022/23 season, although he scored fewer goals that he would have liked. Last season, a loan to Ipswich saw him play just 146 minutes in the Championship before it was cut short. He did, though, get a few minutes for the Spurs team in the Premier League in the second half of the season.

Sunderland are now interested in taking him on loan. Early summer interest was registered in teammate Will Lankshear as well, although we understand it’s Scarlett who is preferred at this stage due to him already playing senior football.

Scarlett is still just 20 years old, and his signing would be to compliment the arrival of a more senior centre-forward rather than instead of.

When he was just 17, former Spurs coach Jose Mourinho publicly talked him up, describing his a huge talent for the future.

Speaking in 2021, Mourinho told The Times: "I know he's still very young, just 17, and it is probably too early for the next World Cup, but Tottenham Hotspur have a striker in Dane Scarlett, who, if everything goes well, is going to be phenomenal.”

Sunderland have had significant success at signing former Spurs u-23s players in recent years, with Jack Clarke, Dennis Cirkin and Romaine Mundle all being stars within the youth ranks at the North London club before heading to Wearside.