In the last throw of the dice in the transfer market- after the loan transfer window closed- Torquay United manager Chris Hargreaves has added Spurs youngster Shaquile Coulthirst in a loan deal which runs until the end of the season.
Coulthirst, 19, has already tasted league football this year in a brief loan spell with Leyton Orient- in which he made two appearances and found the back of the net in the O's 4-0 home win over Carlisle United on January 11th.
He also featured in Tottenham's recent Europa League campaign when he came on as a substitute for Roberto Soldado in their 4-1 win over Russian side Anzhi with 12 minutes to go.
A highly rated prospect, Coulthirst scored 19 goals in 29 games for Spurs' youth sides last season- including a hat-trick against Barcelona's young hopefuls in the Next Gen Series tournament, a competition that pits the youth sides from the top clubs across Europe against each other.
He has also been capped by England at youth level.
In recent seasons, Spurs have loaned a number of young prospects, including young full-back Adam Smith, now of Bournemouth, who impressed during a loan spell at Plainmoor during the 2009-10 season.
Smith later went on to appear for England's Under-21 side, whilst a couple other of his contemporaries who also benefited from similar loan spells- Steven Caulker and Andros Townsend- have go on to represent the England senior team.
If Coulthirst can score the vital goals that could keep the Gulls in the Football League, he goes straight into their squad to face Southend tomorrow as a direct replacement for the departing Enoch Showumni who has joined Plymouth Argyle, then there is an excellent chance that he could go on to follow their footsteps.
