Port Vale loanee Alfie Devine is recalled
Alfie Devine, who has impressed on loan, has been recalled by his parent club Tottenham Hotspur.
The news will be a blow for the Valiants following on from Ollie Arblaster’s recall by Sheffield United. The pair have been arguably Vale’s best loan signings in many years.
After a slow start, teenager Devine soon became a regular first-team pick. The 19-year-old made 26 appearances in all competitions scoring three goals.
A message on the official Spurs website said: “We can confirm that we have exercised the option to recall Alfie Devine from his loan spell at Port Vale.”
Port Vale manager Andy Crosby told the official Port Vale website: “I want to begin by thanking both Tottenham Hotspur for their trust with one of their highly-rated, up-and-coming talents and to Alfie for his efforts and commitment to Port Vale throughout his time with the club.
“When Alfie joined us on loan in the summer, one of the key selling points of the club was the assurance that he would be coming in and gaining valuable Football League experience in what would be his first professional loan away from Tottenham.
“We can safely say that he has gained everything that was promised and more and he leaves the club a far more experienced player than when he came. The growth that we have seen in Alfie both on and off the pitch speaks volumes of the person behind the footballer. He has an undying will to become the very best version of himself and we provided him with the best possible platform to do so.
“With his passion and drive partnered with his natural ability, he has all of the tools at his disposal to go on and really make a name for himself in the professional game and everybody that he has met and worked with here at Port Vale will be willing him on to do so.
“I would like to wish Alfie the absolute best of luck in his future career and beyond.”
The news means that all of Vale’s summer loan signings have now returned – with Kofi Balmer and Josh Thomas also returning to Crystal Palace and Swansea City respectively.
Meanwhile, Vale have added two loan signings in the January window with Brighton midfielder Jenson Weir and Liverpool defender Rhys Williams joining.