Leeds United: Djed Spence hits back to Daniel Farke's claims | OneFootball

Djed Spence has been back with his parent club, Tottenham Hotspur, for over two months, after his loan spell with Leeds United ended early, and he has now opened up about his time with the club and responded to Daniel Farke's comments about him.

Djed Spence's response to Daniel Farke

The former Middlesbrough full-back was supposed to be with Leeds until the end of the season, but, just a couple of days after New Year's Day, his loan was ended. He is now on loan at Italian side Genoa.

When asked about Spence and his departure, Farke said: "Obviously, it’s important — the potential and the quality of the player, but also it’s professionalism, it’s discipline, it’s workload on and off the pitch and also the soft skills, also if he’s positive and committed, good for the group and engaged with these topics. Our demands are very, very high and we don’t differ between loan players or permanent players. We are pretty picky on this topic."

The Athletic further reported that the German's main issue with the 23-year-old was his in-game performances, as well as occasions where he turned up late to team meetings and training sessions.

In an interview with The Athletic, Spence said that he wasn't happy with these comments and accusations. "I don’t think that’s fair at all," said the full-back. "I don’t necessarily agree with what they said. But in football, this is how it is: you have to keep your head down, keep going and eventually prove people wrong.

"Some of it is a bit blown out of proportion. You can be late once and if you’re not playing, it’s a problem, and if you are playing, then it’s not a problem."

Djed Spence's time at Leeds

The Spurs loanee came to the newly relegated Championship club right at the start of the season. Even though he joined at the end of June, his first game for the club didn't come until September, when he came on as a substitute against Sheffield Wednesday.

A knee injury not long after then kept him out until mid-December, and, just a few weeks later, his Leeds career was over.

He added: "I went there, things were going well, then I got injured. I got quite a bad injury to my knee, then I came back but I was still getting pain. I came back and was playing a bit but I was playing on the wrong side (at left-back). It wasn’t easy. It didn’t get the best out of me, everyone wants to play in their best position."

Tottenham have nearly ruined Djed Spence's career

His brief spell in Yorkshire was his first time being back in the Championship after his impressive 2021/22 campaign with Nottingham Forest, which ultimately got him his move to Spurs. He looks a completely different man to the one that played at the Riverside just a few years ago.

Genoa have the option to sign him permanently at the end of the season, but Spence told The Athletic that he still wants to establish himself as a Tottenham player; the club that has come close to ruining what looked to be a promising career.

Ever since he made the move to the north London club, things have gone down hill. The manager at the time - Antonio Conte - didn't want to sign Spence, rather it was the club who saw him as a player they wanted. Conte described the signing as "an investment of the club." This led to him and the boss having no relationship, as the full-back put it.

A change in the dugout wasn't enough to give the 23-year-old a proper chance in the Spurs team. Ange Postecoglu's fresh set of eyes descended on the Tottenham team in the summer, so he could assess the new players that he would have to work with. Spence was left out of all the friendly games that the club played in pre-season.

His desire to make it at Spurs is understandable. He was presented with a great opportunity at such a young age, and he'll want to make sure that he does all he can to make it work. But at some point he may have to realise that the writing is on the wall. How many rejections from those in the club will it take to break his spirit for Spurs? Only time will tell.