I will not lie to you, I waited to write this article until I saw Djed Spence board the plane for the Asian Tour before I hit submit. Shame me, I don’t care. But I let out a sigh of relief knowing that this article would not get written in vain.
Why?
Because Spence deserves a second chance.
Now, deserves might be a strong word to use. But without any context as to behind-the-scenes dealings with him at Genoa or Rennes, or conversations between Spence and Ange Postecoglou, we are only grasping at what media coverage has given us in the past.
First, it started with our previous manager Antonio Conte labelling Spence as a “club signing.”(Talk Sport) After not breaking into the first team at Tottenham, he was loaned out to Rennes for a portion of the season.
Then came the switch to Postecoglou and many expected Spence to get the chance to shine his immense talent. Unfortunately, Ange didn’t see a place for him on the first team with Pedro Porro and Emerson Royal locking up the top two spots. So it was decided he would be loaned out to Leeds United.
But more bad news followed him. A knee injury sidelined him for two months and he was limited to 7 starts for the Championship division team (OneSport). Then came the shocking news that his loan was cut short, then followed up with a scathing report that exposed his poor timekeeping at Tottenham and Leeds United (ESPN). He was allowed to leave the club permanently but no suiters came his way.
This leads us to today. With his career on a lifeline, enough of those experiences could either break or make an individual’s career. At the ripe age of 23, he’s young enough to be given grace, but old enough to know better. The talent has always been immense in Spence. His former manager Neil Warnock, stated that Spence was destined for “Premier League or Non-League (Express).”
When you watch him play, he tends to glide on the pitch with his movements. His silky smooth dribbles through defenders are a thing of beauty that I would love to see more of. He knows how to find spacing on the pitch and has enough vision to guide the ball for plenty of scoring opportunities. Sadly, the question happens to be, does Spence want it more than we want it for himself?
In his first game of preseason against Hearts, he registered a goal and an assist. He provided a performance that made my eyes light up and remember the kind of talent I was rooting to play for the Spurs for the past 2 years.
Against Queens Park Ranges, he had a couple of key passes and won a couple of duels. While against lower competition, it’s the glimpses of his play that remind me of a player who ripped up the competition when he played at Nottingham Forrest.
I believe he has the talent to be a starter on a few Premier League teams. I also believe he provides a better option to Porro in case of injury or suspension.
Offensively, he would be a terror to many teams to track down the right-hand side due to his speed and lengthiness on the ball. And while I believe he can improve his defensive standing, he’s athletic enough to track back and make up for any mistakes.
The thing about second chances is that not everybody gets them. Many people get that. But if you have talent, you’ll get more than you probably deserve. And that happens to be the case for Spence in my belief.
It has already been reported that Spence has impressed coaches since his return to N17 per Paul O Keefe (X). I’ve seen enough to say that I would LOVE for him to be covered for Porro, especially if Royal is allowed to leave via transfer.
I believe he provides another dynamic option for Postecoglou. But the question is ultimately, does Ange see him as part of his plans or is this preseason just an attempt to drive his value up for a permanent transfer?
I’m praying Spence has a long-term future here with the Spurs but it could be possible that the decision has already been made.
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