Most of Tottenham Hotspur’s players jumped straight onto the coach after their 5-0 victory over Southampton on Sunday evening but one individual stayed behind for a little bit longer.
Djed Spence was not alone, though. The 24-year-old defender, who was clutching his muddy shirt, was surrounded by family and friends in the reception of St Mary’s Stadium. The group hugged each other, cracked jokes, smiled and took photos to commemorate a moment that many of them at one stage might have privately feared would never happen.
Two and a half years, or 881 days to be precise, after Spence joined Spurs from Middlesbrough in a deal worth up to £20million ($25m) including add-ons, he finally made his first start for them. Spence spent the 2021-22 season on loan with Nottingham Forest. He was a key member of the squad that won the Championship play-off final and excelled against top-flight opposition on their run to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.
The full-back’s performance against Arsenal prompted Gabriel Martinelli to call him the toughest individual opponent he had faced. Spence seemed ready for the Premier League but his subsequent journey has been unconventional, to say the least.
It did not help that then-head coach Antonio Conte called Spence a “club signing” a couple of weeks after he arrived from Middlesbrough. Underwhelming loan spells with Rennes, Leeds United and Genoa suggested his long-term future lay elsewhere but a couple of encouraging displays for Spurs in pre-season, and a notable cameo against Coventry City in the Carabao Cup in August, led to him signing a contract extension until 2028.
Spence was left out of the club’s Europa League squad but played the entire second half of September’s impressive 3-0 victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford. Spence’s versatility — he is comfortable on both wings — is a valuable skill. A groin injury disrupted his momentum and then, earlier this month, Ange Postecoglou made comments that threw doubt over his long-term future.
“I think a major turnaround is Djed playing regularly at this level, just because he has hung around doesn’t mean that is a major turnaround,” Postecoglou said before Tottenham’s defeat to Bournemouth. “I still think a lot of that is Djed continuing to train hard and wait for his opportunity.
“Fitness-wise, he is always in good condition. We train pretty hard. Could he start a game? I think he could. Could he start multiple games? Probably not because he hasn’t played for quite a while. He has been in and around the squad. Particularly between now and Christmas opportunities may come up for him.”
And they have. Micky van de Ven, Cristian Romero and Ben Davies are all unavailable, which has forced Postecoglou to come up with some creative solutions in defence. Archie Gray, who played primarily as a right-back for Leeds in the Championship last season but prefers a central midfield role, has become an emergency centre-back. Pedro Porro and Destiny Udogie have been burdened with a heavy workload. Gray’s move into a central area means Spence is the only option to give Porro or Udogie a break.
It took Spence less than 60 seconds to demonstrate why he should have been trusted to perform at this level sooner. The former England Under-21 international received the ball just inside his own half with his back to goal. Spence spun away from Flynn Downes, stayed on his feet despite being pulled back and poked the ball into a gap between Southampton’s centre-backs. James Maddison raced onto the pass and slipped his shot through Alex McCarthy’s legs.
“He has been patient and he’s a great lad,” Maddison told TNT Sports. “Djed is quite a laidback character, so I don’t think he needed too much of a pep talk. I just told him before (the game), ‘Go and do what you do’. I think he got the ball and managed to wriggle away like he does, which he is very good at. And that’s a run that I have been working on for years, you know, that left pocket run in behind the defence. To be fair to Djed, it was a brilliantly weighted pass — perfect. I just had to finish it off. Big credit to Djed for that one.”
There were lots of other moments that suggest Spence should receive more playing time in the future. He looks comfortable moving into midfield and constantly asks to receive the ball. Just before half-time, having switched to left-back because Udogie came off due to tightness in his thigh, Spence showed remarkable composure next to the corner flag. Southampton’s forwards were aggressively chasing him, Maddison and Pape Matar Sarr. They escaped the pressure and initiated a counter-attack that led to Son Heung-min forcing McCarthy into a save.
Spence was being pushed into different positions across the pitch, forging relationships with team-mates he has barely played with while realising a childhood dream. His all-action display is illustrated in The Athletic’s player dashboard below. It helped that Southampton were awful but he did not show any nerves.
He did not need to do a lot of defending against the Premier League’s bottom side but in one situation used his strength to usher the ball out of play and prevent Kyle Walker-Peters from reaching it. This happened right in front of the away supporters who cheered and Spence then whipped his arms up asking for more noise. They want to see him succeed.
“Djed has had to bide his time,” Postecoglou said afterwards. “It’s the one area of the pitch where we’ve had cover this year, with Archie playing at right-back, so he’s had to be patient. It’s a testament to him and the coaches who have worked with him in training that he could come on today. We needed him, not just to play but to make an impact and he did. Great reward for his patience and perseverance.”
Postecoglou said the decision to substitute Udogie was “precautionary” and that “he wanted to continue but we can’t take any risks at the moment”. The Italy international and Spence share a close relationship. They sat next to each other on flights during the pre-season tour to Japan and South Korea and attended a concert together from the Nigerian artist Asake at the O2 Arena.
Depending on how Udogie recovers, Spence might need to ask his friend for advice before Thursday’s Carabao Cup quarter-final against Manchester United. It has taken far longer than expected but Spence is finally ready to make his mark for Spurs.
(Top photo: Dan Istitene/Getty Images)