Former United States youth international Brandon Austin waited around a decade for his first start for Tottenham.
When he got it, the 25-year-old goalkeeper quickly found out how unforgiving the Premier League is.
Austin, who possesses dual American/English nationality and once played for the U.S. under 18s, conceded in the sixth minute of his senior debut for Spurs when England winger Anthony Gordon drove a low shot into the far corner for Newcastle to make it 1-1.
It was the first shot Austin faced.
Austin was playing because first-choice goalkeeper Vicario has been out injured and back-up Fraser Forster fell ill on the eve of the match.
Born outside London, Austin was previously with Chelsea before joining Tottenham’s youth set-up. He was part of the basketball team at his school and that’s no surprise – his father, Neville, was a pro basketball player, representing England having played collegiately for the Georgia Bulldogs.
Brandon Austin has played for Spurs’ youth teams from 2014 and has been a regular member of the first-team squad since returning from a loan spell at Orlando City in 2021. He has appeared in Tottenham’s senior matchday squad on 78 occasions prior to his debut, the club said.
This could yet prove to be his only appearance for Tottenham, which has been linked with the signing of another goalkeeper with Vicario injured.
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