Dane Scarlett

Dane Pharrell Scarlett (born 24 March 2004) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Leyton Orient.

Scarlett has represented England up to under-21 level and was a member of the 2022 UEFA European Under-19 Championship-winning squad. He began his domestic career at Tottenham Hotspur, becoming the club's youngest appearance maker at 16 years and 247 days during a UEFA Europa League match in November 2020. He made his Premier League debut three months later. He spent the 2022–23 season on loan at Portsmouth in League One. He spent the early parts of the 2023–24 and 2024–25 campaigns on loan at Championship clubs Ipswich Town and Oxford United.

Club career Scarlett was part of the Tottenham Hotspur Under-18s team in the 2019–20 season; however, the season ended prematurely for him after he sustained a knee injury. He started playing with the first team in pre-season friendly matches in August 2020 and returned to the Under-18s at the start of the 2020–21 season. He scored ten goals and made three assists in eight games;

He first appeared on the first-team bench at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in a UEFA Europa League game against Ludogorets Razgrad on 26 November, and he made his debut after coming on as a substitute for Lucas Moura. At the age of 16 years and 247 days, this made him the youngest player to have appeared in a senior first-team competitive game for Tottenham, beating the previous record held by John Bostock. The record lasted until 10 January 2021 when Alfie Devine made his debut at the age of 16 years and 163 days. On 12 January 2021, Scarlett scored five goals for the Under-18 team in a 6–2 win over Newport County in the FA Youth Cup. He made his Premier League debut on 7 February 2021, coming off the bench during stoppage time against West Bromwich Albion. Manager José Mourinho said, "I wanted to be the one to put him on in a Premier League match. Because I know that he will be somebody in a few years." On 24 February, he became the youngest player to make an assist in the Europa League since Kylian Mbappé in a 4–0 win against Wolfsberger AC, teeing up Carlos Vinícius for the goal. On 28 March 2021, Scarlett signed his first professional contract with Tottenham Hotspur.

Having enjoyed a promising pre-season, Scarlett was seen as having "big, big expectations" by new manager Nuno Espírito Santo. Scarlett made his first start for Spurs on 19 August 2021 in the inaugural UEFA Europa Conference League competition, playing in a 1–0 defeat to Paços de Ferreira. New manager Antonio Conte said that Scarlett was "the best prospect from the academy" in February 2022. The following month, Conte urged the player to show patience with his lack of game time as he had noticed that he was "improving a lot". He played seven first-team games for Spurs during the 2021–22 season,

On 27 July 2022, Scarlett was loaned to League One side Portsmouth for the 2022–23 season. He scored his first professional goal in a 1–0 win at Port Vale on 27 August. On 3 September, he scored both Pompey's goals in a 2–1 win over Peterborough United at Fratton Park to conclude a run of four goals in three games. Manager Danny Cowley said that he was the best defensive forward he had seen in 15 years. Cowley was sacked on 2 January. His successor, John Mousinho, later admitted that Scarlett "struggled to get a place" in the first XI, however, showing "how competitive it is in league football". Interim manager Simon Bassey mused that "sometimes, failure is good... I am sure Dane is going to be a good player". Scarlett ended the campaign with six goals in 40 appearances. Spurs interim manager Ryan Mason said that he had returned as a physically stronger player.

On 31 August 2023, Scarlett signed a new contract with Tottenham to run until 2027 and joined Championship side Ipswich Town on loan until the end of the 2023–24 season. He made 12 substitute appearances for the Tractor Boys, He returned to the Spurs team for their third round FA Cup game against Burnley, coming on in the 83rd-minute as a substitute for Richarlison.

On 12 August 2024, he returned to the Championship on a season-long loan at Oxford United. He scored his first goal for the U's, an injury-time equaliser, against West Bromwich Albion on 19 October. He struggled for playing time under manager Des Buckingham due to the form of Mark Harris. He featured even less, however, after Gary Rowett replaced Buckingham as manager and signed both Ole Romeny and Tom Bradshaw in the January transfer window. Scarlett was recalled from his loan by Tottenham on 20 January, having scored four goals in 22 games for Oxford. He played five games for Spurs in the 2024–25 campaign,

Scarlett made five substitute appearances for Tottenham during the 2025–26 season, before he was loaned to Scottish Premiership club Hibernian on 30 January.

On 1 September 2026, Scarlett joined EFL League One club Leyton Orient.

International career Scarlett celebrates his goal against Tunisia with his teammates. Born in England, Scarlett is of Jamaican descent. He made one appearance for the England U16 team in August 2019, playing against Denmark, where he scored both goals in a 2–0 win. On 2 September 2021, Scarlett scored on his debut for the England U19s in a 2–0 victory over Italy at St. George's Park. On 17 June 2022, Scarlett was included in the squad for the 2022 UEFA European Under-19 Championship. He scored twice in a group stage match against Serbia. He started in the final as England won the tournament with a 3–1 extra time victory over Israel on 1 July.

On 21 September 2022, he made his England U20 debut as a substitute during a 3–0 victory over Chile at the Pinatar Arena. On 10 May 2023, he was included in the England squad for the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup. He scored the winning goal in their opening group game against Tunisia and also played in their round of sixteen elimination against Italy. On 11 September 2023, he made his England U21 debut as a substitute during a 3–0 win away at Luxembourg in a UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification match.

Style of play Scarlett is a centre-forward with excellent off-the-ball movement and positional skills, as well as good athletic attributes.

Career statistics + Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Division!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals Tottenham Hotspur U21 2021–22 Premier League

2021–22 Premier League

2023–24 Premier League

2024–25 Premier League

2025–26 Premier League

11!!0!!5!!0!!1!!0!!10!!1!!0!!0!!27!!1 Portsmouth (loan) 2022–23

England U19s UEFA European Under-19 Championship: 2022