According to a former Tottenham player, Tottenham could let Djed Spence leave for another club during the January transfer window due to Antonio Conte’s lack of opportunities.
Spence was loaned to Nottingham Forest by fellow Championship club Middlesbrough last season. He had a fantastic season, appearing in 39 league games as Steve Cooper’s side won promotion to the Premier League.
Forest have been strongly linked with a permanent move for the right-back. However, the Reds never made an offer and instead pursued other defenders.
Neco Williams and Giulian Biancone were brought in from Liverpool and Troyes, respectively. Serge Aurier joined the City Ground on a free transfer after the summer transfer window had closed.
Spence, on the other hand, went on to join Tottenham. According to the Daily Mail, the relocation cost £20 million. Boro made a sizable profit on the Englishman, who joined on a free transfer from Fulham U18s in July 2018.
Spence arrived in north London with a lot of promise after some outstanding performances with Forest. However, his Spurs career never really took off.
The day after his arrival, Conte made a troubling admission about him being a club signing rather than the manager’s choice.
“Spence is a club investment,” Conte said at a press conference. The club was eager to participate. ‘OK, this player is young, but he’s shown he can become a good, important player for us,’ I said. The club decided to purchase him.”
This immediately cast doubt on Spence’s future. He didn’t appear to get much playing time under a manager who didn’t want him to join.
And that is exactly what has occurred. This season, the 22-year-old has only played once in all competitions. And he only played for one minute against Forest, coming off the bench in the final seconds.
Djed Spence is expected to leave in January, according to a pundit.
Alan Hutton, who played 66 times for Spurs, believes the club could cut ties with Spence and allow him to go out on loan in January.
“It’s a strange one,” the pundit said in an interview with Football Insider. I thought Spence was a great talent when he signed. He was fantastic at Nottingham Forest. “I believed he was ready for the Premier League.” But then you hear Antonio Conte say that it wasn’t his signing, but rather a club signing for the future.
“It hasn’t gone as planned for Spence, which is unfortunate because he has talent.” If this trend continues into January, he will have to look for a loan move. He’s too talented to sit on the bench. “You don’t want that to affect him in the future.” He’ll want to be on the field every week. If that means going on loan and returning a better player, so be it.”
Spence desperately needs game time, and Hutton is correct. At the age of 22, he cannot afford to sit on the bench and jeopardize his development.
A loan moves away from Tottenham would be ideal. It would allow him to regain his full confidence while also potentially impressing Spurs officials.
He could then return to the club next summer and possibly force his way into the starting lineup. That is simply not possible under Conte.
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