Tottenham wonderkid absence explained with Thomas Frank to make transfer decision

Tottenham have already had one new arrival in the January transfer window and the supporters have been waiting to see him involved

Tottenham are making sure that a minor back issue for January arrival Mason Melia is completely gone before the highly-rated young striker gets to work, football.london understands.

The 18-year-old is one of the biggest young talents in Irish football and his move to Spurs has been long in the offing with the club agreeing a deal with St Patrick's Athletic back in February, worth an initial £1.6million - a record transfer for the League of Ireland - with the potential for add-ons to double that figure.

Tottenham saw off competition from top clubs across the Premier League and Europe to land the striker's signature and Melia, who won the PFA Ireland Young Player of the Year award last year, put pen to paper on a contract with the north London outfit until 2031.

Melia has already played 98 senior matches, including Europa League games, despite his age and been directly involved in 33 goals, scoring 25 and recording eight assists.

Tottenham fans were hoping to see him involved with Thomas Frank's first team but football.london understands that a very minor back complaint, which the young striker played with during his final months in Ireland, is just being dealt with to ensure Melia can hit the ground running at 100 per cent with the club.

Frank is then expected to decide whether the teenager will be involved in first team training to help his development or if the Republic of Ireland U21 international will head out on loan during this January transfer window to increase his senior minutes.

Melia finished his most recent campaign with St Patrick's Athletic with 13 goals and four assists from 35 League of Ireland matches and also netted and provided an assist in the club's six Europa League qualifiers.

Former Tottenham goalkeeper Josh Keeley told football.london last summer after joining Luton Town to expect big things from the teenager once he settles into life at the Premier League club.

"I mean he is a young lad, who has played a lot of senior games at the minute and he is playing constantly for St Pats. I think him coming over, signing for Spurs and getting to know all the boys is only going to help him progress," said the keeper. "He is going to do very, very well."

When leaving St Pat's, Melia wrote on social media: "Never thought the day would come that I would be closing my chapter at @stpatsfc, I would like to thank everyone that has supported me while at my time at pats to the staff, teammates and to all the fans.

""From making my debut to scoring my first league goal, winning the cup and making so many memories with my teammates. I’ve met some good people and not so good….

"Everyone has a played a vital role in my career and I can't say how thankful I am for that, I’ve made some close friends that I will always have by my side. Thank you to all of yous that believed in me and gave me a path to get to where I am today. Once a saint always a saint."