A-League Goalkeeper of the Year Ryan is due to spend the first week of August with the English Premier League heavyweights in what is officially described as a training visit, but which will obviously give Spurs the chance to take a look at one of Australia's highest-rated young stars.

Mariners goalkeeping coach Crawley told au.fourfourtwo.com that while he is unsure how Tottenham will test Ryan's ability, he believes the 20-year-old already has the all-round game to make a good impression in any scenario, be it practice games or the training pitch.

“If I was organising a trial for a goalkeeper, I'd want to look at them in a game situation,” Crawley said. “But of course there will be training and shooting drills, and shot-stopping is seen as very important.

“I think Mat can impress in both scenarios. Sometimes you get professional trainers who aren't as good when you see them in a game, but Mat is very focused at training as well as being excellent in games as we've seen.

"He'll do very well over there.”

Crawley admitted the club has been fielding interest in Ryan from the UK for some time but that when Tottenham came forward, it was too good a chance to deny the 2011 Joe Marston medallist.

“As his coach I have to wear two hats," said Crawley. "We're doing the right thing for him because he's done well with his performances and he deserves this chance.

"While we're sad that we might lose him, we're also happy for him that he has this opportunity.”

Even though Australia has a long-standing reputation as a producer of great number ones, A-League goalkeepers haven't been leaving our shores in the volume that outfield players have started to in recent years.

Crawley said it could be difficult for goalkeepers to make the move overseas due to the nature of their position.

He added: “If you're an outfielder, it's different. If you're a lefty, you could get slotted in on the wing, or moved to left back if there's a hole there. With goalkeepers, there's only that one spot.

“In recent years, because of the A-League, there's a chance to play here at a decent level and you don't need to go overseas to prove yourself.

“With Mat, ideally we'd like him to go overseas and play. We don't want to see him just sitting on a bench not developing.

“Being a goalkeeper, sometimes you get that time in your career where you do have to bide your time. But ideally you'd sign for a big club and also play.”

As the man who launched the senior careers of Ryan and three-times A-League Grand Finalist Danny Vukovic, Crawley has earned a strong reputation as a nurturer of young goalkeeping talent.

Crawley admitted a role in the national team set-up is something he harbours in the back of his mind but Mariners coach Graham Arnold, a big admirer, would not let him go lightly.

Instead if Tottenham firm up their interest in Ryan, it will be up to Crawley to try to unearth yet another young gem between the sticks for Central Coast.