Tottenham Hotspur are closing in on a deal to bring Djed Spence to north London this summer.
What’s the talk?
That’s according to Alex Crook, with the talkSPORT journalist revealing on Twitter that he has been told that Tottenham’s reported £20m move for the Middlesbrough right-back is now very close to being completed.
Further reports claimed that Fabio Paratici is hoping to confirm the 21-year-old’s arrival early next week, with it now appearing most likely that the England under-21 international will become Spurs’ third signing of the summer, following the arrivals of Ivan Perisic and Fraser Forster.
In his tweet, Crook said: “Told Djed Spence to Tottenham is very close to being done.”
Arteta will be fuming
Considering just how exciting a prospect Spence undoubtedly is, and with the signing of a new right wing-back reported to be one of Antonio Conte’s priorities in the summer transfer window, Crook’s claim that Tottenham are now close to sealing a deal for the defender is undoubtedly fantastic news for the club.
Indeed, over his 42 Championship appearances while on loan at Nottingham Forest in 2021/22, the £7.2m-rated talent was in astonishing form. He bagged two goals, registered five assists and created six big chances for his team-mates, along with averaging one key pass, 0.6 shots and 1.8 successful dribbles per match.
The £4.4k-per-week full-back also impressed in metrics more typical of his position, making 1.5 tackles, 1.6 interceptions and 1.4 clearances and winning 5.8 duels per game.
These figures saw the 21-year-old earn a quite breathtaking seasonal WhoScored match rating of 7.05, ranking him as Steve Cooper’s sixth-best performer in the Championship as he played a crucial role in Forest sealing promotion to the Premier League.
Furthermore, Spence also stole the show in the Reds’ 1-0 FA Cup victory over Arsenal in January, after which Ian Wright heaped considerable praise on the defender.
The former Gunners marksman stated: “That was one of the best right-back performances I have seen for a very long time. A very long time. If we are talking about right-backs performing at an unbelievable level, we’re talking Reece James and Trent [Alexander-Arnold].
“But I have not seen a combative, technical, swashbuckling performance like that for a very long time. I said to him afterwards, ‘whatever’s happening, whatever you’re doing, the level you’ve just shown us here is the level you have to be consistently hitting, Djed’.
“I said to him, in all seriousness, ‘that level we saw there? You should be in the Premier League’. Simple as that.”
Whether as a result of this performance or simply due to his desire to sign a new right-back, Mikel Arteta was reported to also be seriously interested in signing the Middlesbrough starlet this summer.
As such, the reports that Paratici now looks to be very close to getting a deal over the line for the 21-year-old is sure to have left the Spaniard fuming. Not only have Arsenal missed out on the signing of an incredibly talented prospect, he will now more than likely be lining up for the Gunners’ north London arch-rivals next season.
AND in other news – “A London source..”: Italian journalist drops Spurs transfer update, Conte will be buzzing
