TOTTENHAM academy product Shaq Coulthirst has signed for sixth-tier side Maidstone.
Striker Coulthirst, 29, made his Spurs debut in December 2013, replacing Roberto Soldado in a 4-1 Europa League win over Anzhi Makhachkala.
At the time, he was battling with Harry Kane for a place in Spurs’ squad, with the now England captain one year older than him.
Coulthirst had already made a name for himself at age group level having scored a hat-trick for the U19s against Barcelona in a 4-1 victory in 2012.
His performances caught the attention of both Barca and Real Madrid, but a big move never materialised.
He ended up leaving Tottenham for Peterborough in 2016 following loans with Leyton Orient, Torquay, Southend, York and Wigan.
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Just seven goals in 43 appearances saw him depart after two seasons, before he went on to have spells with Barnet, Borenham Wood, Billericay and Ebbsfleet.
Now he has penned a deal with National League South side Maidstone for next season following a loan spell with Braintree where he scored 11 in 29 matches.
In the eight years since leaving Spurs, Coulthirst has scored 55 goals in 215 club appearances.
Last year, ex-Tottenham academy player Lawrence Vigouroux revealed the talent Coulthirst had as a youngster.
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He told talkSPORT: “In the year above we had Harry Kane, Alex Pritchard, Ryan Fredericks.
“We had a player, Shaquile Coulthirst, he played for the first team a few times he was unbelievable. Unbelievable, youth team, unbelievable, Under-21s and then he had a couple of really bad injuries.”
He went on to add: “He was honestly one of the best players that was there at the time and had a real aura – a presence about him, captain of the youth team.
“And then came up and played really young for the 21s team.
“Someone that, without the injuries, who knows what would have happened with him?
“Because he had everything going for him.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
