Tottenham player set to leave for Leyton Orient | OneFootball

Richie Wellens has spoken publicly of his issues between the sticks at the start of the campaign

Leyton Orient are set to complete a deal to bring Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Josh Keeley to the club on loan.

That’s according to football.london correspondent Alasdair Gold, who claims the Republic of Ireland under-21 international will be making the move to Brisbane Road before tonight’s transfer deadline, after signing a new deal with the Premier League club.

The 21-year-old is yet to play for the Spurs first-team, but has featured regularly for the club’s development squad in Premier League 2, as well as featuring for Barnet in the National League last season.

Richie Wellens has made the move for another goalkeeper to add to his ranks with the O’s, after some questionable performances from Middlesbrough loanee Zach Hemming.

Richie Wellens moves to address Leyton Orient goalkeeping issues

Much was expected of Hemming when he made the move from The Riverside earlier in the summer, but the early signs have been far from promising from the 24-year-old.

A howler on the opening day of the season against Bolton Wanderers handed the visitors all three points to start the campaign, with a number of shaky performances to follow.

The shot-stopper was also at fault for Birmingham City’s opener in the Blues' 2-1 victory over Orient last weekend, with a ball played out from the back being intercepted, before Keshi Anderson found the back of the net.

Wellens was left fuming post-match, with the former Doncaster Rovers boss not holding back in his analysis of his goalkeeper’s performance.

He said: “There is no hiding from it, our goalkeeper [Zach Hemming] has cost us points. We could easily be sitting here with six or seven points, so he needs to look at himself in the mirror and get better but I thought our response was fantastic.

"I thought we were the better team. They have quality, obviously, but for me, we were far better and the second goal was a bit of a killer for us.

"But we should have got something out of the game. I’m disappointed but proud at the same time. You only have to look at what they have and what we’ve got. We need more from our subs. I’ve been disappointed with them so far."

Josh Keeley can provide competition for Leyton Orient number one spot

While Orient already have Hemming, Sam Howes and Noah Phillips as options between the sticks, the decision has reportedly been made to add Keeley as another option for the season ahead.

The competition for the role of number one looks set to hot up over the next few weeks, with Hemming likely to face stiff competition from the Tottenham Hotspur man.

Having joined Barnet in the most-recent January transfer window, the 21-year-old kept three clean sheets in 18 appearances for the Bees, as they lost out in the National League playoffs.

With two further clean sheets for Spurs’ development side this season, the goalkeeper could be a handy pickup for the O’s to strengthen an area of the pitch which has been troublesome so far this season.