League One boss praises Spurs loanee after solid start to season

Lincoln City boss Michael Appleton has heaped praise on Spurs man TJ Eyoma, who made his League debut at the weekend against Oxford.

The England U19 international was a World Cup winner with his country in 2017 and has made a solid start to life in senior football. He made his senior Lincoln debut as they beat Crewe 2-1 in the first round of the League Cup, before making his full Football League debut in the impressive 2-0 win against Oxford.

On Tuesday night, he started at right-back and starred as they thrashed Bradford City 5-0, setting up a tie with Liverpool next week. With Eyoma looking so confident and comfortable, despite going to the LNER Stadium on loan and not playing last season, the former Manchester man is delighted with what he has seen.

“The fact TJ is prepared to come in after not being involved last year says everything about what he thinks of us, the environment and what we are trying to do,” Appleton told fansite The Stacey West

“He’s got great athleticism and remember; he made his league debut against Oxford too. Everyone was talking about Sean Roughan making his debut, but it was TJ’s too. You almost forget because he’s captained the Under 23s at Tottenham and been at a big club.

“He’ll only get better. He’s a pretty quiet character around the place, but he’s one I feel is reliable. He can play a number of positions and he just comes in and gets on with his job.”

Eyoma has played for the Spurs first team, albeit briefly. He came on for eleven minutes of the FA Cup game against Tranmere, a match his side won 7-0. His only other outings for the club have come in their Under 21 side in the EFL Trophy, a competition he has since also appeared in for The Imps.

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Eyoma joined Lincoln last season and didn’t get a kick of the ball, which could have easily put him off returning. However, some of that was pandemic-related, with the youngster only spending a month or two at the LNER Stadium before the season was curtailed.

He’s certainly making up for lost time, having put in a series of impressive performances on the right-hand side of the Imps’ defence. He can also play centrally and it looks like he’s set for a key role in the new-look Lincoln City squad.