Tottenham have decided to listen to any offers for Djed Spence after the £15m star was told he has no immediate future under new boss Ange Postecoglou.
The 23-year-old full-backed joined Spurs in a £20m move from Middlesbrough last summer, the player arriving at the insistence of chairman Daniel Levy. Then boss Antonio Conte, however, was far from convinced and rarely used the player during the first half of the season.
Indeed, Spence had just four appearances to his name, totally just 30 minutes, when the club allowed him to leave on loan for Rennes in the January window.
Now back at Spurs, the summer pre-season programme was expected to hand the star a fresh chance to carve out a career for himself at the club.
And while Pedro Porro is now established as the club’s first-choice right-back, ongoing doubts over his back-up, Emerson Royal, means there was a potential opportunity there for Spence to force his way into the reckoning.
Postecoglou has brought in five summer signings so far, but remains open to adding to his squad, especially after the exit of Harry Kane to Bayern Munich. To that end, a new striker is very much on the agenda with talks held over the surprise signing of Romelu Lukaku.
On the flipside, Postecoglou could still allow a number of fringe players to depart, with Spence failing to catch the eye, having not been part of their matchday squad in either of their first two matches.
Now journalist Alasdair Gold claims Postecoglou is willing to let Spence leave if any offer comes their way. And that includes allowing him to depart on either a permanent or even a loan arrangement.
Tottenham ready to offload massive failure Djed Spence
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Gold provided the latest on Spence’s future.
“Djed Spence, Spurs will listen to any offers for Spence,” he said. “He’s absolutely failed to impress Postecoglou.
“He’s not going to play this season unless there are injuries. The only interest thus far has come from the Championship for Djed.
“I guess it’s up to him whether he takes a step down to the league below. I think Spurs have to accept a loan because I don’t think they’re going to get a fee anywhere near what they paid for him right now.
“They maybe just have to get a loan, do well in the Championship, build himself back up.
“I guess this will be a good test of whether Djed is just comfortable sitting around at a Premier League club or whether he will be happy to go back to the Championship and kind of reboot, start again and show everyone what he can do.”
Spence certainly needs a move to get his career off and running again. And a move into the Championship would not be the worst thing. To that end, a move to promotion hopefuls Leeds United could be one such option.
The West Yorkshire side, relegated from the Premier League last season, have already raided Spurs to bring in Joe Rodon. Having seen a bid for Max Aarons snatched away at the last by Bournemouth, a possible move for Spence would tick a lot of boxes for the Whites.
It could also be the perfect move to get Spence’s career back on track.