'The way we play suits him': Postecoglou says Spurs have a top talent who's doing 'everything right' in training
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Tottenham Hotspur defender Djed Spence has had a remarkable turnaround at Spurs over the past few months.
The Tottenham defender went from being a near-certainty to be sold to securing himself a new Lilywhites contract until the summer of 2028.
Spence initially struggled to make an impact at Spurs since joining from Middlesbrough back in 2022.
Prior to this season, he made just six appearances for Spurs and has been shipped out on loan three times while on the Lilywhites' books.
However, Spence worked hard in pre-season and forced his way into Ange Postecoglou's plans.
And even though he didn't make the cut in Tottenham's Europa League squad, the Spurs boss stressed this was due to their difficult 'club-trained' player situation.
Now, Spence has penned a new deal at Spurs, showing he’s very much in Postecoglou’s plans for the future.
Speaking at Friday’s press conference ahead of Tottenham’s Premier League meeting with West Ham, Postecoglou explained what Spence did that won him and the club over.
Ange Postecoglou says Djed Spence has been doing ‘everything right’ in Tottenham training
Postecoglou told football.london: “I said a couple of days ago and consistently say, most of a players future is in their own hands. They’re as much in control as anyone else. I think sometimes footballers forget that.
“With Djed, it could have been easy for to go out on loan again. But 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.
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. Like I said, sometimes footballers think their fate is in other peoples’ hands. For the most part, it’s in their own.
“If they’re doing well and doing everything right, the future tends to take care of itself, whether that’s where you currently are or you move on. And Djed’s certainly done that.”
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When will Spence play for Spurs this season?
Aside from Spence’s talent, potential and attitude, he now also has versatility on his side.
The 24-year-old has proven that he can play on either side, which increases his chances of playing.
As things stand, Pedro Porro and Destiny Udogie remain nailed starters, and the Europa League situation means Spence can only play in the league and domestic cups.
Spence will likely have to make do with a squad rotation role at present, and his best hopes of regular starts are in the Carabao Cup and FA Cup this season.
However, the stage is set for him to kick on and force his way into starting XI contention for next season.
