Ange Postecoglou is creating a team of manifest quality down at Tottenham Hotspur but the Australian will need more time to right the wrongs that have plagued the squad over recent years.
While the senior recruitment is filled with promise, the exemplary gains made at academy level must not be ignored, with Wayne Burnett's development squad top of the Premier League 2 and undefeated after 12 matches.
The youth level has come on leaps and bounds, it really has, and while Spurs have enjoyed some brilliant success with those cutting their teeth at the club in recent years, now the machine-like structure hints at sustained efficacy of production.
Some teenagers have risen to the fore but too many have been lost in the ether, with Josh Onomah one of the fairly recent prospects to have fallen flat.
Josh Onomah's Spurs career
Once considered a talented prospect, attacking midfielder Onomah made his Premier League debut at 18 under Mauricio Pochettino's wing, coming off the bench during a 3-1 victory over Aston Villa in November 2015.
He had the trappings of a real star; he had – has – an innate ability to manipulate space in enclosed situations and a shrewd eye for openings, technically proficient.
But after making just 32 appearances for Tottenham, scoring once, Onomah was sold to Fulham in 2019 as part of a £25m deal that saw talented wideman Ryan Sessegnon head in the opposite direction.
While his Spurs career had ended before it got going, there was still ample time for success, having flourished on loan with Villa in the Championship during the 2017/18 campaign, posting four goals and three assists across 20 starts, completing 80% of his passes and 62% of his dribbles, as per Sofascore.
Onomah had even self-styled his game to that of Dele Alli, revealing back in 2016 that he was modelling his game on the former prodigy's skill set, saying: "They’ve all been good to me and I’m learning bits and bobs from everyone really. Also Dele Alli – he’s doing amazingly.
"He’s only a year older than me and look at the stuff he’s achieved. I’m learning from him as well."
Alli was regarded as one of football's most exciting talents after joining Spurs from MK Dons for around £5m back in 2015, clinching 66 direct goal contributions across his first three Premier League campaigns.
Where Are They Now
Your star player or biggest flop has left the club but what are they doing in the present day? This article is part of Football FanCast's Where Are They Now series.
Jose Mourinho even touted the 27-year-old to become "one of the world's best", but he has sadly suffered an acute decline over recent years, a by-product of affecting personal issues and circumstances.
What Josh Onomah is doing now
Onomah spent three campaigns with Fulham as the London club fluctuated between the Premier League and the Championship, but he was always on the periphery and completed a short-term move to Preston North End on a free transfer in January 2023, released by the Cottagers as they finally found form and synergy in the top-flight.
His fleeting stint in Lancashire might well have proved to be his last hurrah within the professional game, making just four starts and earning one assist before his release. He has not found a club since.
Last month, League One side Bolton Wanderers were linked with a shock swoop for the 6 foot 1 ace on a free deal, but nothing materialised.
The door has not been shut irrevocably, but Onomah will need to find a platform soon if he is to find success in the professional game.
