Failed 2023 Leeds United deal didn't pay off but was worth the gamble: View | OneFootball

Highlights

Leeds United's loan move for Djed Spence last year looked set to be a smart move from the Yorkshire club, but in the end it never quite lived up to expectations.

The 23-year-old had a breakout season with Nottingham Forest when they were promoted to the Premier League in the 2021/22 season, on loan from fellow Championship side Middlesbrough.

That earned the star a move to Tottenham Hotspur, in a deal that was worth up to £20million in 2022.

A struggle to break into the first team in the following season, making just a handful of cameos, before a short loan spell at Stade Rennais that was hampered towards the end by a knee injury.

With Spence having made 40 starts down the right flank for Forest during their promotion-winning season, the deal that saw the young star drop back down to the second tier to join Leeds in the summer of 2023 made perfect sense.

On his arrival at the club, during an interview with the club media, he seemed ready to take on the challenge, claiming that the attacking style of football under manager Daniel Farke was a key motivation for the move.

He seemed to suit the style, was excited by the move to get back to playing football and had strong experience at the level, despite his young age.

Spence's move to Leeds did not pan out as planned

Despite all the best laid plans, the move did not go how either party would have hoped.

The move entered difficulties before it had even properly got going, with Spence suffering a knee injury which saw him sidelined for a number of weeks after playing just one game for the club.

Playing a significant number of his minutes in an unfamiliar left-sided role to cover for the injury suffered by Sam Byram, the Whites perhaps never saw the best version of him.

However, the Championship side clearly felt the move was not working for them, as it was the Yorkshire side that activated a break-clause in the loan agreement, rather than the wing-back's parent club.

In total, before moving back to Spurs, Spence made just seven appearances for Farke's side, registering no goals or assists.

The Spence gamble was worth it, and the issues were unforeseen

Quotes delivered by Farke in press engagements following Spence's departure seem to allude to the fact he was unhappy with the player's professionalism.

That, combined with an injury sustained early in the loan move, are two key factors that may have led to the deal breaking down midway through the season, and are both elements that would have been difficult to detect prior to agreeing the move.

The reported £1million loan fee that was required to bring the young player to the club temporarily may sting slightly now that we know how it panned out, as those funds likely could have been utilised better elsewhere in the club, but in Championship football terms it is unlikely to have caused too many financial difficulties.

With hindsight, Leeds would probably not recreate this move, but it was one that seemed to make perfect sense at the time, and it would be difficult to blame those that thought it was the right thing to go for the deal.