Taking a closer look at Tottenham youngster Alfie Devine

Alfie Devine earned a place in Tottenham’s record books when he became the club’s youngest ever player and goalscorer in the 5-0 win at Marine.

The midfielder came on at half-time and scored his side’s fifth goal aged just 16 years and 163 days.

Here, the PA news agency takes a closer look at the teenage star.

Sporting background

There is perhaps no surprise Devine is making his way towards the top as he comes from a sporting family. His dad Sean made 39 appearances for rugby league club St Helens between 1986 and 1990, while his cousin Kalan is also on the club’s scholarship programme.

A meteoric rise

Born on August 1 2004, Devine has had a prominent rise to the top. Starting out at Liverpool, he moved to Wigan aged 11 where his potential was quickly noticed. He first caught Spurs’ attention with a strong performance in the Latics’ FA Youth Cup victory over the Premier League side and not long after they made their move. He was already training with the Latics’ first team when Spurs paid in the region of £300,000 to get him to London.

Jose’s support

A boy in a man’s game

It did not take long for the midfielder to be moved up an age group from the Under-18s to the Under-23s and he proved he was not going to be over-awed as he hit the headlines in a game with Chelsea. Devine went in strongly on former England international Danny Drinkwater and the pair clashed afterwards, both receiving a red card. Mourinho seemed impressed enough to include him in some first-team training sessions not long after.

The magical moment

What the Premier League looked like in 2004

What the Spurs team looked like in 2004