Former Spurs academy player joins two loanees | OneFootball

Yesterday, Thursday the 16th of January 2025, it was confirmed that former Tottenham Hotspur academy graduate, Dilan Markanaday, has joined Leyton Orient on loan for the rest of the season, where he will team up with current Spurs loanees Josh Keeley and Jamie Donley.

Former academy player will join up with current graduates

Born in Barnet, Markanday came through the ranks at Spurs, and made his debut in October 2021 during a UEFA Conference League game away to Vitesse. Three months later, he joined Championship side Blackburn Rovers, in order to try and become a first team regular.

After just three league cameos in his first 12 months, Markanday went on loan to Scottish side Aberdeen - where he again found game time very hard to come by, starting 0 games and playing just 57 minutes of league action for the Dons, before heading back to Blackburn that summer.

Although not a regular starter, the 23/24 season was more fruitful for the winger, as he featured in 21 Championship games, starting a third of those. He also impressed in the FA Cup, during Rovers' penalty shootout defeat at home to Premier League side Newcastle United.

Despite an impressive pre-season, and being in the match day squad for the first league game of the season, Markanday was loaned out to Chesterfield at the start of the season, with some expecting a League One move instead, given he had featured in nearly half of their 23/24 league games.

As a result, many people were expecting big things in League Two, and he definitely provided that. With six goals, three assists, and generally good performances across his 22 games, Blackburn have decided to send the 23-year old on loan to high flying League One side Leyton Orient instead. One of those assists was against George Abbott and Notts County, where the Spurs youngster also registered an assist - the first one of his senior career.

It will be pretty cool to see him in the same team as Josh Keeley and Jamie Donley, whom have both done so well under the tutelage of manager Richie Wellens so far, so you would hope it will also be a good place to develop for the former Spurs man. One thing to note is that early on, both Keeley and Donley were left out of match day squads due to the five loans allowed rule, so hopefully not the same for Markanday.

Speaking of match day squads, the attacker did not play for Chesterfield in the FA Cup this season, so he could get a chance to play against Manchester City in the fourth round, with Orient progressing via another penalty shootout win against Derby County in the third round.

Being a right-winger, we could see him linking up with Donley, whom plays every game in the number ten role, in the final third. Play-offs are definitely on for the O's at the moment, as the form side in the league, and perhaps the entire top four tiers. Good luck.