Former Spurs academy goalkeeper Jonathan De Bie has opened up on what prevented him from breaking into the Tottenham first team.Tottenham Hotspur not only focuses on strengthening their first-team squad, but also places importance on their academy, signing youngsters to improve the youth system.Some players progress through the academy to become first-team regulars, while others do not, and when they fail to make the step up, they are either released or sold.In recent seasons, Spurs have not had much representation from their youth ranks in the senior side, but that is something they will be hoping changes in the coming years with several exciting prospects in the U21s and U18s.Luca Williams-Barnett, Mikey Moore and Malachi Hardy are among the promising talents currently coming through at Tottenham.Photo by Lynne Cameron/Getty ImagesFormer Tottenham goalkeeper Jonathan De Bie reveals regret over academy spellDiegem Sport goalkeeper Jonathan De Bie is one who also came through the Tottenham ranks and impressed, but never quite managed to break into the first team.The Belgian stopper kept 11 clean sheets and conceded 43 goals from 30 matches for Tottenham’s U18s between 2016 and 2019. He also represented the U21s, conceding 23 goals in eight matches.While he had hoped to become the club’s number one or at least break into the senior squad, it never happened, and he has now revealed why.Speaking to Het Laatste Nieuws, De Bie reflected on his regret about his Tottenham spell: “In my own country, I received my training successively at Tubeke, Anderlecht, and KV Mechelen.“At 16, I moved to Tottenham. Of course, that was quite an adventure for a youth player. Life was hard in the beginning, but I adapted and would stay with the English top club for five years.“My future looked bright at Tottenham but then came corona. The league was suspended and everyone had to stay home. For me, that concretely meant that I could not go to Belgium for eight months and did not see my family all that time. Fortunately, after three months, my wife was allowed to travel to England after all.”De Bie blames pandemic for missed Tottenham opportunityDespite the struggles in 2020, the young shot-stopper still had ambitions of representing Tottenham or, at the very least, securing a loan move to a Championship side.That did not happen, and he blames the pandemic. He said: “Indeed, corona ruined my English career. I am realistic enough to realise that the competition at Tottenham was cutthroat. The team had three goalkeepers for the first team and three for the reserves. I played a lot for the reserves.“Anyone who gets a chance there has good prospects of being loaned out or sold to a team in the lower half of the table and/or the second division. I did not get that opportunity because of the pandemic.”Since departing from Spurs, De Bie played four matches for RWDM Brussels before being sent on loan to Lokeren-Temse. He was then released in 2024 and later joined Schaerbeek, where he enjoyed regular minutes, making 56 appearances.The shotstopper, however, left Schaerbeek as a free agent at the end of last season and has now moved to Diegem Sport.READ MORE: Tottenham made Luca Williams-Barnett a promise of minutes amid transfer exit talkThe post ‘I was at Tottenham for five years but COVID pandemic ruined my English career’ – Jonathan De Bie appeared first on Spurs Web.