Djed Spence has become invaluable for Tottenham Hotspur this season. It is a scenario that seemed implausible a few months ago.
At the beginning of December, Spence had not started a game for Spurs. He joined from Middlesbrough in July 2022 following a successful loan spell with Nottingham Forest, with whom he helped win the Championship play-off final.
The full-back had a difficult couple of years with Spurs and was sent out on loan three times. The 24-year-old made his first tentative steps forward in December’s 5-0 victory over Southampton, shackled Mohamed Salah in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final against Liverpool, and won back-to-back Premier League player of the match awards in victories over Brentford and Manchester United. He is outperforming his positional rivals, Pedro Porro and Destiny Udogie.
In an interview with former Manchester United and England centre-back Rio Ferdinand and broadcaster Joel Beya, which was released on Monday, Spence reflected on how he turned his career around. He spoke about Antonio Conte, shut down the online rumour that he took part in a charity match last year organised by YouTube collective the Beta Squad, and touched on his ambition of representing England.
Here, The Athletic analyses the main talking points.
“I gave too much respect to the players and the surroundings at Spurs”
Tottenham finished fourth in the Premier League in the 2021-22 season, reached the semi-finals of the EFL Cup and were eliminated from the Europa League at the group stage. They spent over £100million on transfers that summer as they prepared for their first full campaign under then head coach Conte.
Spence was thrust into a squad that included the captains of England, France and South Korea under a manager who had won trophies in multiple countries. It was a huge step up for the defender, who had never played at a higher level than England’s second tier.
“I came from Forest, I’m going to the Premier League, a top six club, and I thought, ‘This is big’,” Spence said. “I was a bit too humble with everything.
“When I went there I’m seeing big names like Harry Kane, Son (Heung-min) and I don’t want to step on anyone’s toes. That was probably my biggest mistake — not expressing myself how I should have.”
“That man wasn’t happy about anything”
Spence’s adaptation was not helped by comments made by Conte just a few weeks after his arrival from Middlesbrough. “Spence is an investment of the club,” the Italian said. “The club wanted to do it. I said, ‘OK, this player is young, but he showed he can become a good, important player for us’. The club decided to buy him.”
Spence made four substitute appearances in the league under Conte, for a grand total of five minutes, and came off the bench twice in cup competitions. He moved to French side Rennes on loan in January 2023 and when he returned six months later, Conte had been sacked.
“I felt like whatever I did, that man wasn’t happy about anything,” Spence said. “Even if you did the right things, (you would think) ‘Did I do the right things?’ He is not really a complimenting guy.”
Spence revealed he probably only had “one conversation” with Conte and that his comments had a negative impact on his mood. “It wasn’t a nice feeling, to be honest. I was coming into the club on a high, I was confident, I was buzzing, I had a great season. Just won promotion with my club. When I came in, I just ran into a brick wall really. It shattered my confidence a bit. I’m young as well, so it’s not nice to hear.”
“Football is not fair”
Spence struggled during his loan spell in France. He lived in a hotel for three months and then moved into an Airbnb due to a lack of available accommodation while his family remained in London.
“It’s a new manager, you think everyone is going to get a chance, but with me, I don’t think that was really the case,” he said. “It’s part of the game. Football is not fair. That’s when I went to Leeds.
“I have always known I was good enough. People say, ‘It was good to see him get a second chance and he is doing well’. I never really got the first chance. This is my first chance and I’m taking it. I’m happy for myself. I worked hard and stayed consistent and made sure I was ready.”
“We will never get in trouble for playing Postecoglou’s way”
Postecoglou decided to keep Spence in his squad for this campaign after he impressed on the pre-season tour to Japan and South Korea. He came off the bench and scored in a 2-1 victory over Coventry City in the Carabao Cup before he signed a new contract until 2028 in October.
“When he came into pre-season, he was determined to make a career for himself here at Tottenham rather than wait to be loaned out,” Postecoglou said after the deal was announced. “He did everything right in training, his attitude was great. He’s a good footballer, I think the way we play suits him and he’s knuckled down to that. And he’s earned himself a spot on the roster in our squad. The rest is up to him again because it’s an easy decision for me to make when I see that.”
Spence broke into the starting XI over December and January when Udogie was recovering from a hamstring injury. He is naturally right-footed but seamlessly adapted to left-back. He has started 11 of their last 14 top-flight games — missing one through suspension and another through injury.
Postecoglou encourages his full-backs to push forward and Spence has four direct goal contributions in all competitions. It is a system that he flourishes in, no matter what side he plays on, while training is more engaging than under Conte.
“The players enjoy it,” Spence said. “It’s a fun way of playing, it’s attacking. I get to go forward a lot and come inside into the middle of the pitch where all the commotion is.
“We have players who can, not come out of the system, but have that little bit of freedom like (James) Maddison. He plays the system but has his own quality to produce a bit of magic.
“That is the method. That is the way. To be fair to the manager, we will never get in trouble for playing his way even if we are under pressure. If we play his way, he takes it on himself.
“With Conte (training) was very repetitive. We would do the same session every day. With Ange, it’s a bit different. We do certain drills every day but there might be a different passing drill or different attacks that we do. He switches it up quite a bit.”
“James Maddison is there for me”
Spence has a great relationship with Udogie as they both share similar tastes in music and fashion. They attended a concert together by the Nigerian artist Asake at the O2 Arena last year while Spence forged a strong bond with Brennan Johnson when they previously played together at Forest.
Spence said that one of the other players he is closest to is Maddison. The England international is part of Tottenham’s leadership group along with Son, Cristian Romero and Guglielmo Vicario.
“(Maddison) is there for me and makes sure I’m ready before games,” Spence said. “He will text me, if he is not in the squad through injury, and say, ‘Djed you know what to do today’ or, ‘I want to see this from you’. Madders supports me a lot.”
Maddison has struggled for consistency this season, but it is encouraging to hear how he positively influences the dressing room.
“Doubters, haters, managers…”
Spence worked with Neil Warnock at Middlesbrough but it was a rocky relationship. Warnock sanctioned the defender’s loan move to Forest where he was named in the 2021-22 Championship team of the season for his efforts in helping them to earn promotion. Warnock famously said that Spence “needed to sort himself out” and that he could “go to the top or non-League” when asked to explain his decision on radio station talkSport. Spence had a lot of conversations with Warnock and admitted he did not immediately take that advice.
“You have to prove people wrong,” Spence said. “Doubters, haters, managers (but) I don’t think that’s what drives me. I don’t hold certain comments to a high regard. What fuels me is not just to prove people wrong but I want to improve every day and improve as a person. I want to be the best.”
(Top photo: Vince Mignott/MB Media/Getty Images)