Tottenham boss gives update on defender's future

Speaking to football.london, Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou gave everybody an update on the future of defender Djed Spence.

Ange, when asked by Ali Gold out in Seoul, had this to say regarding Spence.

"I think with Djed, for me we got him back into pre-season and we’re judging him on his merits. He's a Tottenham player. To be fair to him, I think he's been very, very good for us this pre-season, in terms of the way he's trained and his general attitude, but a lot of these things are in the players' hands themselves. They kind of decide their own future in many respects and I think Djed is in that boat."

"I think there's an opportunity for him here, for sure. Thinking about building a squad, he would be definitely somebody who could [contribute] with the attributes he has. I thought last year there was a chance but it didn't quite work out. For those kinds of things, I think sometimes players really wait for direction when they can really take control of their own direction."

"Djed’s here. He is a Spurs player. He's a very good player who fits into our football and so it's as much about him as it is about me making a decision.

"As you see right now, he's been very good pre-season, he's been very good on the tour. He's impressed all the coaches, not just myself. For some of them it’s the first time they've worked with him and they've all been really impressed with him.

"Maybe he's learned a couple of things over the last couple of years about himself and hopefully we can sort of bear the fruit of that."

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Tottenham boss gives update on defender's future

It has been a turbulent two years for Spence since arriving from Middlesbrough in the summer of 2022. His own manager, then Antonio Conte. stated that Spence was a club signing before he had even kicked a ball.

That was proven when Spence could only muster 58 minutes of playing time in his first 6 months at the club, before joining Rennes on loan in January of 2023.

By the time Spence was back at the club, Conte was long gone, but he still was not seen as necessary in Ange's first season at the club, before spending six months on loan at Leeds United and Genoa respectively.

The Leeds loan was disappointing, Genoa slightly better but not enough for them to want to sign him, and as a result Spence is having his first proper pre-season at the club and is thriving from it.

With Emerson Royal heavily linked with a move away, Spence could see himself getting minutes as Pedro Porro's understudy this season, particularly in cup competitions.

It must be mentioned that Archie Gray did play a large chunk of games at right-back for Leeds last season, funnily enough keeping Spence out of the side. Could history repeat itself in North London?

Still, there is a healthy dilemma to be had for Ange and his coaching staff regarding Spence for this upcoming season, and it is refreshing to see progress being made on that front, regardless of how long it may last.