New Tottenham Hotspur signing Kevin Danso will have enjoyed what he saw from his new teammates during Spurs’ 2-0 win over Brentford at the Gtech Stadium.
Despite Tottenham’s torrid form and Brentford’s remarkable home record, it was all smiles for the likes of Antonin Kinsky and Ben Davies who were high-fiving in front of the away end at full-time.
Ange Postecoglou was desperate for a Premier League win and his Spurs side delivered in very tough circumstances.
Danso obviously wasn’t available to feature for Spurs having only signed on the morning of the game, and without Radu Dragusin, it was Ben Davies who partnered Archie Gray at the heart of Tottenham’s defence.
And whilst the duo impressed, Spurs’ full-backs also deserved a ton of credit, Pedro Porro and Djed Spence.
Spence in particular was outstanding at left-back, a redemption story that shows no sign of slowing down.
Djed Spence proved his talent once again with superb Brentford performance
Up against Bryan Mbeumo – one of the Premier League’s best right-wingers, Spence wasn’t dribbled past once according to Sofascore.
Mbeumo was getting some joy when drifting into central areas, but that was arguably to get away from Spence, who was giving him no joy on Tottenham’s left.
Spence made four tackles, five clearances and also won eight duels against Brentford – an incredible all round performance.
Of course, it was also Spence’s attacking energy which caught the eye in Spurs’ 2-0 win, with the £13m defender playing a crucial role in the lead up to Pape Matar Sarr’s second goal.
Spence was constantly driving down the left when possible, also playing two key passes, which is an understated area of his game.
All in all, it was a performance which once again asked the question of why Postecoglou didn’t want to give Spence a chance earlier in the season.
Ange Postecoglou nearly got it wrong with Djed Spence at Tottenham
Postecoglou actually wanted to sell Spence in the summer, and he’s only now getting his chance because of the level of injuries at the club.
Speaking very candidly about the situation earlier this month, Postecoglou recognised Spence’s progress, performances which may not have happened if the Tottenham manager was able to offload the defender last summer.
Now, fans in N17 would surely be livid were Spence not continued to be rewarded with starts in recognition of his excellent form.
According to the same Sofascore ratings, Spence was Tottenham’s highest performing player against Brentford, a full-back who is playing out of position on the left too.
Perhaps Postecoglou will actually now consider the left-hand-side as Spence’s strongest, a superb talent who will be ready to test himself further against Liverpool on Thursday.