You might not have heard of Nya Kirby, but he apparently was the source of some further bad blood between Tottenham Hotspur and one of its London rivals. Kirby was once a very promising young Tottenham academy member until Chelsea turned his head. That’s the story according to Spurs, who have in recent weeks accused the West London club of “tapping up” the youngster, now 16.
The English youngster has represented his country at international level. He was developing at a fast pace and the report indicated that Kirby had even started training with the first team under manager Mauricio Pochettino.
But the youngster refused to sign a scholarship contract with Spurs last season, and left the club to attempt to sign with Chelsea as a youth trialist. Kirby’s departure from Spurs didn’t make a lot of news at the time. This happens sometimes with youth players; Ismail Azzaoui, who left Spurs for Wolfsburg last year, was another highly rated player who decided to play his youth football elsewhere.
However, according to reports, Tottenham raised a stink this time, accusing Chelsea of contacting Kirby illegally and turning his head. Football clubs are not allowed to make inquiries to players with another club without the knowledge and consent of the player’s current club. Spurs accused Chelsea of circumventing them over Kirby, though the article didn’t specify how the contact was made or through what channels.
Kirby could have had the opportunity to play in the Europa League for Tottenham alongside Harry Kane and Delli Ali but instead, he is now with Crystal Palace facing a relegation battle
Considering that Kirby is yet to turn 18, he has not been able to sign a professional contract with Crystal Palace just yet. It still leaves the door open for clubs like Chelsea to come in with a concrete offer, while Spurs will still be hoping that Kirby decides to return to White Hart Lane.