Tottenham ‘ready to sell’ Conte signing after manager hits out at ‘professionalism’ and ‘discipline’ | OneFootball

Djed Spence speaks to Brennan Johnson ahead of a Premier League match.

Tottenham are now reportedly prepared to sell Djed Spence in the January transfer window after Leeds United terminated his loan spell.

The former England Under-21 international joined Spurs in the summer of 2022, while Antonio Conte was still at the club, on a five-year contract in a deal worth a reported £20m.

But Spence – who tasted promotion from the Championship with Nottingham Forest before moving to Tottenham from Middlesbrough – has only made six appearances in all competitions for Spurs in his 18 months at the club.

He was loaned out to Leeds United in the summer transfer window after it became clear that he was going to see little game time under Ange Postecoglou this campaign.

But, after making just five starts for the Yorkshire club in the Championship, Leeds have decided to abruptly terminate his loan and send him back to Tottenham.

And Leeds boss Daniel Farke gave a damning verdict on Spence’s time at Elland Road after sending the 23-year-old back to his parent club last week.

Farke said: “After a little bit of time after the New Year’s game we’ve analysed the first half of the season, the first months and especially also the impressions over the festive periods. Obviously when you make decisions in January, it’s not a short-term decision.

“It’s more like you’re thinking over situations even in the weeks and the month before, but we wanted also to take the impressions of the festive period into account and then there was a time also to share the thoughts and to discuss the things. We came to the conclusion that we will end the loan for Djed and he will return to Tottenham. We are grateful for his time here.

“He’s a player of great potential and also a cool guy with a really good heart so we really wish him all the best. But yeah, sometimes you need to take a decision. I don’t want to talk too much about Djed right now, because he’s meanwhile also back at Tottenham, and I totally respect that he’s their player.

“Listen, in the summer we came here in order to create and to bring new values and to create a new culture within the club and when we speak about a player if he’s on here on a permanent or a loan deal, we have expectations and these expectations are in several topics important.

“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, so also if he’s positive and committed, good for the group and engaged with these topics, to paint then more or less a picture.

“We decided ‘okay, this is the player we want in our group and want to represent Leeds United’. But our demands are very, very high and we don’t differ between loan players and permanent players, so we are pretty picky in this topic.”

Spence has not impressed sufficiently to be rewarded with game time in north London and Football Insider claim that Tottenham are now ‘willing to sell’ the right-back in January on a permanent deal.

It is understood that Spurs ‘have put the full-back up for sale to generate cash for Ange Postecoglou and bring in further additions to his squad’ but ‘do not expect to recoup the full fee paid to Middlesbrough in the summer of 2022’.

But transfer expert Fabrizio Romano is expecting Spence to be loaned out again despite his unsuccessful spell at Leeds.

Romano wrote in his Caught Offside column: “Another situation at Tottenham involves Djed Spence, who is back at the club after a difficult loan spell at Leeds. The plan now is for him to go out on loan again. The expectation is to look for solutions in England but also in other countries including Germany and Italy. They will check options, he’s expected to leave the club again.

“It’s not been an easy time for Spence, but of course in the future I feel he can revive his Spurs career. He remains a quality player, but he really needs to play on a regular basis now.”