Tottenham Hotspur’s Djed Spence has discussed his unsuccessful loan spell at Leeds United - and addressed criticism from his former Middlesbrough boss Neil Warnock.
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The adventurous full-back joined the Whites on loan in 2023, just over a year on from his £20m move from Middlesbrough to Tottenham Hotspur.
He looked to be a coup for the Championship outfit, but he managed just seven outings before his loan stay was curtailed.
Speaking on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast, Spence said: “The second loan, when I went to Leeds, it was ‘the [Spurs] manager [Antonio Conte] hasn’t seen much of you, you need to go out and play and prove yourself’.
“That’s when I went to Leeds. That didn’t quite work out. Obviously, I got an injury.
"All the loan moves and everything, I never really settled and had the chance to play. Now I'm playing week in, week out, I feel settled.”
Spence has found form at Tottenham and has been among the club’s better performers in a tough campaign.
The 24-year-old’s ability has never been in doubt, but his former Middlesbrough boss Warnock raised question marks over his ceiling after sanctioning a loan move to Nottingham Forest.
In an appearance on talkSPORT, Warnock said: "I let him go. He needed to sort himself out, really. I basically said to him that you can go to the top or you can go non-league.
"I think Steve Cooper is the manager for him, to be honest. He has let him go forward more often, which suits his game."
Warnock’s comments were put to Spence and the former England under-21 international conceded he “didn’t take it on”.
He said: "If I'm honest I didn't take it on. I don't know. I had a lot of conversations with him to be fair, and he always said he'd seen a lot of players and I could be the best. He made that comment, I'm either going to be non-league or whatever he said.
"It's a weird one because if I go in and do rubbish and become non league, he was right. If I go on and become the best, he was right. It's a weird comment. He's alright, man, he's alright."