Everyone knows Tottenham Hotspur need to inject more attacking talent into their squad in the 2026 transfer windows, either winter or summer - or even both. Spurs tried their best to upgrade their attacking options this past summer for new coach Thomas Frank, signing young gems Xavi Simons and Mohammed Kudus before springing a deadline day loan deal for PSG striker Randal Kolo Muani.
So far, Kudus has been a revelation on that right wing for Tottenham, while Simons and Kolo Muani have been assets for Spurs overall. But Tottenham still need more after already missing out on Manchester City winger Savinho before the deadline closed.
The thing is, Tottenham are starting to realize that they have holes elsewhere in the squad that were not addressed in the summer transfer window, even beyond the attack. Briefly, Spurs thought about signing a left back as cover for Destiny Udogie, with Napoli's Mathias Olivera among the names on their wishlist.
Tottenham didn't end up signing anyone, but 11 games into the fresh Premier League season, it's pretty clear that Spurs are going to have to sign a quality left back before long. Djed Spence simply is not cutting it as cover for Udogie, whose injury issues these last few weeks have been a bigger blow to Tottenham's overall team than they would have otherwise anticipated.
Tottenham's cover is not good enough
Spence is a right back, not a left back, and Tottenham have pretended for far too long that the England international is a viable option on that side of the formation. When Spence starts for Udogie, the entire Tottenham attack falls apart, because the left flank becomes a complete non factor. And that puts far too much strain on a young left winger to then do the job of two men.
Simply put, no matter how you try to dress it up, Spence isn't good enough to play meaningful minutes for Tottenham on that left flank. At best, he is right back cover for Pedro Porro. At worst, Udogie gets hurt yet again and then Spurs have to start Spence on the left flank, and if they are going up against a good enough team, it's basically like being a man down.
Tottenham won't have too many options to work with on the transfer market, because good left backs are highly coveted. But if Spurs can find a proven veteran who can actually play the position with a respectable left foot, then that's enough to be a substantial upgrade on Spence.