Breaking news this morning on the transfer front — Tottenham Hotspur striker and academy graduate Dane Scarlett has been recalled from his loan with Championship side Oxford United and is returning, at least temporarily, to Spurs.
ℹ️ Dane Scarlett has been recalled from his loan at Oxford United.
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) January 20, 2025
This is intriguing news, but we don’t really know what it means. A loan at Oxford, which promoted to the second division from League One last season, was supposed to be a huge opportunity for Dane, but he hasn’t exactly been pulling up trees there. In nearly 800 minutes of action, mostly off the bench, Scarlett has four goals and 0 assists, with a npxG+xA of just 0.15. That matches the eye test in the few Oxford matches I’ve had the opportunity to watch when he’s played — he doesn’t get on the ball all that much and isn’t getting many shots off either, averaging just over 1.3 shots/match. That could be a reflection on Dane, or it could also be the way Oxford play, it’s unclear.
So what does his loan recall mean? Could be a number of things. With Dominic Solanke injured for at least a month, it could be that Dane’s coming back to be the break-glass-in-case-Richy-also-breaks striker, allowing Will “Big Willy Lanks” Lankshear to head out on loan as Ange Postecoglou suggested last week. It could also potentially be an opportunity for Scarlett to head back out on loan elsewhere, at a club that may suit his skill set better, or give him more opportunities.
If I had to guess, I’d say that he’s coming back to stay at Spurs and give Lankshear, the PL2 leading scorer and MVP last season, a desperately needed loan. But honestly I don’t know. All I know is that Dane’s come home, and we’ll have to wait to see what the club’s long term plans are for him.
Update: Well, that didn’t take long. According to Dan Kilpatrick, Dane has been recalled so that the club can find him another loan elsewhere. Makes sense.