Djed Spence was offered hope of forging a successful career at Tottenham by Ange Postecoglou during pre-season, but those hopes took a hit this week, when he was left out of their Europa League squad.
A lack of club-trained talent meant Postecoglou could only name a 23-player squad while complying with UEFA regulations - two short of the 25-player list permitted by the European governing body.
That meant at least two first-team names were always going to be left out. Sergio Reguilon's omission was no great surprise given that he could still leave north London while overseas transfer windows are open.
Many thought back-up goalkeeper Fraser Forster would be the other player to make way. Eyebrows were therefore raised when Spence's name was left off the list.
The right-back has only played eight games for Tottenham since signing from Middlesbrough in 2022, and three underwhelming loan stints away from the club did little to catch Postecoglou's attention.
However, Spence was given hope in pre-season when the manager stated that whether or not he has a future is down to the 24-year-old. "A lot of these things are in the players' hands themselves," Postecoglou said in early August.
"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 definitely be somebody who could (contribute) with the attributes he has."
Spence responded to Postecoglou's challenge by putting in a number of superb pre-season performances and impressing his coaches. Two weeks later, Postecoglou added: "The fact that he can play out on the left again gives us some good options going into the season where, with European football, we’re going to have more challenges."
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Those positive signs will have made his omission from the Europa League squad that much more brutal. The competition may have offered Spence his greatest opportunity of making an impression this term, with Pedro Porro the nailed-on starter in the Premier League.
Spurs are expected to breeze past the likes of Qarabag and Ferencvaros in the European league phase even with a weakened line-up. But Spence will have to find other routes into the starting XI, with Archie Gray set to provide cover for Porro in Europe.