Leyton Orient and Richie Wellens starting to see justification after Tottenham deal | OneFootball

Spurs loanee Josh Keeley starting to impress in East London.

Josh Keeley initially struggled to find game-time with Leyton Orient this season, but things are changing for the Tottenham loanee under Richie Wellens.

The 21-year-old joined Orient on a season-long loan in August, but only made his league debut in a defeat away to Northampton Town in mid-October.

Prior to Keeley's spell in the side, the O's struggled defensively - conceding ten goals in their opening five league games.

Middlesbrough loanee Zach Hemming started the season as Orient's No.1, replacing fellow Boro goalkeeper Sol Brynn, who was with the O's temporarily last season.

Hemming played 12 of Orient's opening 13 games in all competitions, with Keeley making his debut in the EFL Cup away at Brentford. This period saw Hemming pick up two clean sheets and averaging a rating of 6.5 per Fotmob.

Two wins, two draws and six defeats from their opening ten league fixtures had seen the club separated from the relegation zone by goal difference, and they were winless in their last four as pressure built in East London following a poor start.

That led to Keeley earning a chance.

The cons of signing Keeley are becoming a distant memory

Having already brought in a loan keeper in Hemming, the signing of Keeley was heavily criticised as it appeared to be a panic signing so late in the window.

While Keeley had shown his quality last year with both Tottenham's Under 21 side and at National League side Barnet, the lack of a permanent presence in between the sticks in East London was viewed as cause for concern - Orient haven't had a recognised and permanent number one keeper since Lawrence Vigouroux departed for Burnley after the O's League Two winning season in 2023.

However, since Keeley made a consistent run as the O's number one, they have seen a significant shift in momentum after keeping consecutive home clean sheets for the first time since January.

His most recent performance at home to Blackpool highlighted his qualities and helped the O's to a rampant win at home - breaking their rut of seven months without a Saturday home win.

With this performance, Keeley has sent many O's fans happy as we head towards another international break. Two points now separate the club and the relegation zone, with things looking up.

Tottenham will be happy, but Orient can be big winners

Now that Keeley has finally nailed down a consistent place in the Orient lineup, the hierarchy at Tottenham will be delighted by his development over the last 18 months; he's making step-by-step progress up the ladder out on loan.

Equally, Wellens and the Orient backroom staff will be pleased with the Irishman's recent form, which will hopefully be a catalyst for a push up the table heading into the new year.

With both senior keepers both on loan at E10 and the January transfer window fast approaching, it will be interesting to see where both Keeley and Hemming's mid-term future lies. The latter, you could see getting recalled.

It would be easy to assume a recall could be on the horizon for whoever receives fewer opportunities between now and the new year, which would then present another transfer dilemma for Orient, who would want to avoid a third consecutive year without a permanent number one.

You'd think Tottenham will be keen for Keeley to retain his place in the O's side and continue his development in East London on what we've seen since he has muscled his way into the picture. If that's the case, they'll be delighted with this loan agreement.

The true winners, though, will be Orient if things can pick up over the second-half of the season for Wellens and his side, who can take huge confidence from Keeley's presence as their last line of defence.

Any scrutiny that surrounded the deal is long gone and Orient are seeing full justification.