Diegem Sport goalkeeper Jonathan De Bie regrets failing to make a name for himself in England while at Tottenham Hotspur.
The Belgian has had a disappointing career since he left Tottenham and returned to his country in 2021. He joined Diegem Sport on a free transfer in the summer window and is looking to revive his career, years after leaving the Premier League side.
De Bie had spells at Tubeke, Anderlecht, and KV Mechelen’s academies. He left the latter at a young age to join Spurs in 2016 and was initially part of their U18 side.
The stopper kept 11 clean sheets and conceded 43 goals from 30 matches for Tottenham U18 between 2016 and 2019. He also represented the English club U21 side, conceding 23 goals from eight matches.
What went wrong at Tottenham
In February 2021, Jonathan De Bie left the Premier League side to join RWDM Brussels. A year before, the Belgian media had reported about Anderlecht wanting to bring him back.
He has made eight appearances for Diegem Sport, keeping one clean sheet and letting in 15 goals. The goalkeeper has been speaking to Het Laatste Nieuws, where the focus is on his regret about the Tottenham Hotspur spell.
“In my own country, I received my training successively at Tubeke, Anderlecht, and KV Mechelen,” he said.
“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 couldn’t go to Belgium for eight months and didn’t see my family all that time. Fortunately, after three months, my wife was allowed to travel to England after all.”
Plan was to leave Spurs for another English club
Jonathan De Bie’s aim was to either fight for a place at Tottenham Hotspur or join another Premier League/Championship side, either on loan or a permanent transfer. This didn’t happen, and the stopper blames Covid for it.
“Indeed, corona ruined my English career,” De Bie explained.
“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 didn’t get that opportunity because of the pandemic.”
During the 2019/20 season, Hugo Lloris was the No.1 for Tottenham’s first team. Paulo Gazzaniga and Michel Vorm were the Frenchman’s backups.
Since leaving Spurs, he played four matches for RWDM Brussels. They sent him on loan to Lokeren-Temse before releasing him in 2024. Later that year, he joined Schaerbeek for free and enjoyed regular minutes [56 matches].
De Bie left Schaerbeek as a free agent at the end of last season and moved to Diegem Sport.
