Spurs: £25k-p/w Conte flop has cost the club £3.3m every match
Tottenham have not hit the jackpot with this exciting acquisition last year…
Tottenham Hotspur are enjoying blistering success as they revel in a new life under Ange Postecoglou’s management, with the Australian boss orchestrating some stellar early form that has charged the outfit into second place in the Premier League after seven matches.
It’s a far cry from the woes of last year, where esteemed manager Antonio Conte was sacked in March – Spurs’ fourth dismissed boss in as many years – and the club languished to an eighth-placed finish, missing out on European qualification for the first time since 2008/09 under Harry Redknapp’s wing.
While Postecoglou has made his mark on the transfer front this summer, making a range of exciting signings including but not limited to James Maddison, Micky van de Ven, Guglielmo Vicario and Brennan Johnson, some of the greatest success has come from the resurgence of several formerly struggling members.
Indeed, Yves Bissouma has been a “monster” in the middle while captain Heung-min Son has scored six times from his past four outings after being labelled a “passenger” by journalist Charlie Gordon for his substandard showings last season.
Right-back Djed Spence also flattered to deceive last term after joining in the summer, but while his Tottenham teammates are now thriving, he was not entrusted with a squad role by Postecoglou and has been shipped out to the Championship on loan.
How much did Tottenham spend on Djed Spence?
In July 2022, Tottenham completed the £20m signing of Middlesbrough defender Spence following the player’s impressive loan spell with Nottingham Forest, who had achieved promotion to the Premier League after a sensational campaign.
Spence had indeed been instrumental in Forest’s rise to the top flight, playing 46 times and posting three goals and five assists, hailed for his “swashbuckling” performances by pundit Ian Wright.
The fee appeared lofty, but Tottenham were convinced they had swiped the signature of one of England’s most precocious talents, but his career at the club thus far has been nothing short of a nightmare.
How has Djed Spence performed for Tottenham?
Now over a year into his career on Spurs’ books, Spence has only played six times, meaning that he has cost the club £3.3m per appearance when factoring in his transfer fee.
Having failed to impress by Christmas, the London club decided that his progress was best continued elsewhere in the short-term, and the £25k-per-week man completed a loan transfer to Ligue One outfit Rennes on transfer deadline day in January.
As per Sofascore, he did show signs of the player Spurs coveted with the French side, completing 89% of his passes, making 1.8 tackles and succeeding with 63% of his dribbles and 61% of his duels.
The fact that Spurs moved ahead with plans to sign a new right-back in January and signed Pedro Porro on an initial loan, which was completed for €45m (£40m) in the summer, suggests that Spence is not considered likely to earn an unwavering starting berth any time soon.
And with the Spaniard among the finest performers during this Tottenham revolution under Postecoglou’s management, hailed for his “dangerous” recent display against Liverpool, Porro, aged 24, is making the position his own.
Where is Djed Spence now?
Having concluded his loan spell in France with just ten appearances to his name, albeit seeing his playing time during that spell prematurely ended due to injury, Spence was still deemed a stretch away from being at the requisite level at Tottenham and was subsequently loaned to Leeds United in August.
On the 18th of September, the Whites confirmed that the 23-year-old had sustained a knee injury during a challenge in training and that, while surgery was not required, he would face eight weeks on the sidelines, keeping him out until the later days of November.
He has only played nine minutes for Leeds since arriving, coming off the bench against Sheffield Wednesday late into the game and impressing, with Sofascore handing him a 7.0 match rating after he completed all nine of his passes, made four ball recoveries, succeeded with 67% of his dribbles and 83% of his duels.
This means that his debut for the club remains his sole appearance, though having been praised for his “terrific” cameo by reporter Graham Smyth, there is optimism that he might prosper, with the Yorkshire Evening Post writer also praising his “pace and strength to bulldoze the ball forward.”
Such listed qualities are exactly what Spurs paid for when forging ahead with a move, and while it did not work out during his maiden campaign in London, his current placement out on loan is not to say that he has lost his place irrevocably in the Lilywhites squad.
Could Djed Spence still succeed at Tottenham?
In short, yes, of course, he could. Spence is an immensely talented full-back with all of the attributes needed to succeed at the highest level, and still only 23 years old, he certainly has age on his side.
As per FBref, the ace ranks among the top 8% of full-backs across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for pass completion, the top 8% for progressive carries, the top 4% for successful take-ons and the top 19% for blocks per 90.
During that former stint with the Tricky Trees, Spence earned huge acclaim for his performances and left the likes of one-time star Barry Laws waxing lyrical.
He said: “He has been the standout player in the Forest side and we are talking about a full-back. Full-backs do not tend to get many headlines. He grabs them by the handful. In every single game, he has a positive impact.
“He has power going forward, he has electric pace, he has an abundance of skill, he can drop his shoulder, step over, go inside or outside — he is a major threat. I’ve been impressed with his one-to-one defending. He is decent on the back post, he is strong in the air. There is nothing I have seen that you could call a weakness.”
The jury’s still out for how far this dynamo goes, but given that there are no assurances that he will ply his trade for Spurs as the club’s first-choice right-back again, it could prove to be a howler of a transfer after signing such a promising prospect and failing to bring out the slightest tincture of his qualities at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
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