Cameron Carter-Vickers was today announced as the latest player to commit his future to the club, having signed a three-year contract.
The 18-year old made his full debut earlier on this season in the League Cup win over Gillingham and has impressed Mauricio Pochettino enough to have been named on the bench ahead of Kevin Wimmer.
NEW CONTRACT: We are delighted to announce that @cameroncv2 has signed a new contract with the Club until 2019. #COYS pic.twitter.com/05yNOjW9ub
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) September 29, 2016
While it’s no surprise that a youngster who has made his first-team debut should be rewarded with a new contract, what has raised some eyebrows is the fact that the deal is only for three years.
You might think the club would want to tie such a highly rated player down for a longer period, but perhaps they have learned their lesson from past mistakes.
It was only last season that a 20-year old Nabil Bentaleb was handed a five-year contract, only to fall out of favour over rumoured attitude problems.
Another young central defender who like Carter-Vickers much was expected of, was Steven Caulker. He signed a four-year deal in 2012 aged 20, but was sold a year later to Cardiff amidst much speculation regarding the reason he was bombed out of the club.
By handing a young player a long-term deal, a club risks the prospect letting it go to their heads, thinking they’ve made it and losing focus. Carter-Vickers’ three year deal is just long enough to ward off interest from other clubs, while being just short enough to keep him on his toes.
If Carter-Vickers continues his rate of progress he’ll be rewarded with another new contract soon enough, but he’s not being allowed to rest on his laurels.
