Tottenham Hotspur head of development Tim Sherwood has insisted that new signing Ezekiel Fryers must work hard with the development squad before he is considered for first-team selection.

Fryers made his first appearance in a Spurs shirt yesterday in a side which ran out 4-0 winners against Charlton Athletic.

Sherwood admitted that Spurs have been interested in Fryers for a long time but wants the youngster to stay grounded in his push towards the starting XI.

He told the club's official website: "Zeki is one of a number of young players who we have taken an interest in, who play for the reserve teams of different clubs.

"He showed potential, a lot of tools there that could make him a player. We played a couple of friendlies and he was definitely of interest to us.

"Zeki is fully aware that he's a long way away from being ready for Tottenham Hotspur's first team. The plan is for him to come in and work hard with the development squad to get to a level, no guarantees, where he could perhaps play for our first team."

Spurs have been forced to defend their capture of Fryers last week, with Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson calling for an investigation into the deal.