Grant Ward joined Ipswich today, adding to haul of transfer fees brought into the club from the sale of academy players in recent years.
The 21-year old midfielder had a successful loan spell at Rotherham last season and is thought to have joined Ipswich for a fee in the region of £600,000.
Since the new academy scheme was introduced in 2011, Spurs have recouped £36.25m from the sale of graduates, with Ward the fifth most profitable sale.
When you consider that the club are set on selling Nabil Bentaleb and Alex Pritchard this summer, while it would be no surprise if the likes of Tom Carroll or Ryan Mason were also sold, this total could swell quite considerably before the transfer window closes.
While the obvious intention of the academy is to provide first-team players for Mauricio Pochettino, it’s growing reputation is now providing a steady stream of revenue.
Not every young player can make it, but if the academy can produce the odd world beater like Harry Kane, a few squad players and then sell the others who have proved themselves capable of first-team football (either at Spurs or out on loan) the club will have a recipe for success.
The club goes from strength to strength. COYS
What about Azzaoui? You haven’t got a complete list, i read he was sold for about 2mil plus bonuses