Tottenham academy manager Dean Rastrick is delighted seeing U18 coach Matt Taylor take charge of Walsall.

Taylor will leave Spurs for the Saddlers manager's post on June 1.

Rastrick said: “Matt has been first-class during his time with us, combining his tremendous professionalism, integrity and passion for the game with a real desire to help nurture and improve our young players, to the point that several players he has worked with have been able to make their debuts for the first team in the last two seasons.

"I hope he has enjoyed working with us as much as we have enjoyed working with him and, with the additional coaching experience he now has under his belt, we wish him the very best as he moves into a first team management role, something he has always aspired to do.

“We pride ourselves on producing not only players but also coaches and support staff here in the Academy and in recent years we've seen a number of our staff go on to enjoy first team roles both here at Spurs and elsewhere in the game.

"Matt is our latest success story in that respect and I reiterate that he leaves with our best wishes for the future. We will provide an update on our Academy coaching team for next season in due course."