Tottenham have completed the signing of right-back Djed Spence from Middlesbrough on a contract until 2027. The Spurs are paying £ 12.5m initially, but the fee could rise to £ 20m with add-ons.
The England under-21 international spent last season on loan at Nottingham Forest and helped the club win promotion through the playoffs. He was named to the team of the EFL championship of the season and to the team of the championship of the year of the Association of Professional Soccer players.
Spence, who joined Middlesbrough from Fulham in 2018 and made 70 appearances for the club, is Tottenham’s sixth signing of the summer after Richarlison, Yves Bissouma, Clement Lenglet, Fraser Forster and Ivan Perisic.
Antonio Conte, the Spurs coach, identified Spence because he believes he will thrive in his side system, given his speed and willingness to move forward. Spence completed more races than any other league champion last season (76).
Conte wants more productivity from his sides and has improved on the left with Perisic’s free agent signing. Conte turned the 33-year-old Croatian from a pure end to a winger when he was the coach of the Internazionale. Perisic scored 10 goals and made nine assists in all Inter competitions last season.
Spence will compete for a starting spot with Matt Doherty and Emerson Royal, although one of those pairs could leave before the summer window closes. Doherty has said he plans to stay.
Conte is pleased that the club has been able to complete most of its inbound transfer business ahead of time, although it will still be pending new signings. The ideal would be to add another central midfielder, especially if, as expected, Joe Rodon leaves. Rodon has barely appeared under Conte. The coach could also add another wide striker.
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In the coming weeks, the focus will be on the change of unwanted players, namely Sergio Reguilón, Tanguy Ndombele, Giovani Lo Celso and Harry Winks, who were left out of the squad that toured South Korea. Conte could continue or give in to Japhet Tanganga, Pape Matar Sarr, Bryan Gil, Dane Scarlett and Troy Parrott.