Home » ARTICLES » “I didn’t have a relationship with Antonio Conte”- Tottenham loanee opens up on initial struggles after £20m transfer

“I didn’t have a relationship with Antonio Conte”- Tottenham loanee opens up on initial struggles after £20m transfer

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Tottenham urged to agree a substantial sell-on clause for £8.5m outcast.

Tottenham loanee Djed Spence opens up on relationship with Antonio Conte

Djed Spence was once a very highly rated youngster in the Championship but following his move to Tottenham for a reported fee of £20 million, he is now at his fifth club in less than a couple of years.

He moved over to Antonio Conte’s Tottenham Hotspur from Nottingham Forest following an outstanding season in the Championship, helping them to a Premier League promotion.

Djed Spence has struggled at Tottenham. (Photo by Alex Davidson/Getty Images)
Djed Spence has struggled at Tottenham. (Photo by Alex Davidson/Getty Images)

Antonio Conte came out to speak about how Djed Spence was not the player he wanted to sign.

“Spence is an investment of the club,” Conte said. “The club wanted to do it. I said, ‘OK, this player is young but he showed he can become a good, important player for us’. The club decided to buy him.”

Spence featured for Tottenham for less than 45 minutes on aggregate before being sent out on loan to Rennes on deadline day in January 2023.

Djed Spence is now on loan at Genoa. (Photo by Alex Morton/Getty Images)
Djed Spence is now on loan at Genoa. (Photo by Alex Morton/Getty Images)

The N17 side loaned him off to Leeds United last summer before things turned pungent when his loan at Leeds United was cut short. An unwarranted injury in November which proved to be the reason behind his lack of time at Elland Road eventually was to be the nail in his coffin to his time under Daniel Farke.

With his career tangled in struggles, he has now moved on loan to Genoa looking to rejuvenate his form as part of a £26million package to bring defender Radu Dragusin to North London with the Italian side having an option to make his move permanent for a fee of £8.5m in the summer.

Speaking with The Athletic, the 23-year-old got frank when he articulated about being frozen out by Antonio Conte.

When asked about his relationship with Conte and the infamous “club signing” comment from the Italian, Spence said: “I didn’t really have a relationship with him, to be honest. He’s a coach that has his way. I don’t think he has much of a relationship with his players. It’s come into training and train — and that’s pretty much it.”

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Many Tottenham supporters still believed the Former Middlesbrough star would still have a chance of making it in North London although now this looks like a disastrous signing as the N17 side look to ship him out on a permanent deal.

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