Tottenham have ‘€45M asking price’ for their in-form full-back.
Djed Spence’s stock has rarely been higher, and Liverpool are reportedly among a growing list of clubs prepared to test Tottenham Hotspur‘s resolve over a fee. Spurs have set an asking price around €45m for the 25-year-old, whose displays at the World Cup turned him from a squad player people had more or less written off into one of the more sought-after full-backs in England this summer. [h/t Liverpool.com]
De Zerbi had already told Spence before the tournament that he was not part of his long-term plans at Tottenham, effectively green-lighting a sale regardless of how the World Cup went. It just so happened that Spence then went and had a brilliant one, starting and coming off the bench across England’s run to a third-placed finish, including a standout display against Norway that helped send the Three Lions into the semi-finals and drew public praise from Rio Ferdinand, among others.
That form has not changed Tottenham’s stance, but it has certainly changed the market. Inter Milan were long the favourites and had a meeting planned to discuss terms, only to walk away once Spurs’ £40m valuation saw itself on the table, with a few reports calling it excessively high.
Djed End for Spence?
Liverpool, Newcastle and Everton all have shown interest since, with Liverpool’s pursuit increasingly serious, largely because Spence’s ability to cover both full-back positions solves more than one problem for Andoni Iraola at once.
Whether £40m actually reflects Spence’s value is where opinion in and around the club splits. It would be stupid to let him leave for under £50m given his homegrown status and his rise into an England regular.
Pedro Porro’s new long-term deal has made him undisputed at right-back, and with Robertson and Udogie both still ahead of Spence on the left, there is no obvious starting route for him at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium next season regardless of how well he just played for his country.
That is precisely the tension in this one. Spurs are entitled to cash in on a player who has no clear path into the side, but selling a 25-year-old homegrown international on the back of a career-best summer for anything close to £40m would look, in a year or two, like business done in haste rather than business done well.