Tottenham Hotspur would not have signed Djed Spence this summer had Antonio Conte not been the manager.
This has been suggested by Alasdair Gold, who has been discussing the latest addition to the north London club on his YouTube channel.
Spence became the sixth signing of the summer window for Fabio Paratici, with the 21-year-old making the move from Middlesbrough in a deal worth up to £20m.
Right wing-back was one of the key areas which Conte had reportedly set out to address this summer – and they certainly had to battle to bring Spence to north London.
Gold believes the Spurs hierarchy see the Englishman as the perfect fit for Conte’s demands of a right wing-back, with the 6ft defender offering a lot of physical attributes they feel the Italian will relish working with.
He said: “Everyone I hear – three people have told me this – that he’s not a signing they would have made under previous managers. He very much is tailored towards ticking the boxes for Conte in a wing-back, which is height, pace, strength, fitness and ability to take on players with the ball.”
TIF Thoughts on Gold’s comments…
Conte has an interesting selection headache on his hands at Spurs ahead of the new campaign, with four potential options to choose from at right wing-back.
Who should start at RWB vs Forest?
Lucas Moura
Matt Doherty
Djed Spence
Emerson Royal
As well as Matt Doherty and Emerson Royal, Lucas Moura has now emerged as an alternative in that position for the Italian to choose from with Spence now at the club.
And the 52-year-old has already spoken of how Spence was a signing the club had picked out and he had approved, saying: “The club wanted to do it. I said okay, this player is young but he showed he can become a good, important player for us,” he said.
Spence came on against Rangers at the weekend, and with just one more game to go until Spurs kick off their campaign against Southampton on 6th August, their game against Roma on Saturday may give us an idea of who could be Conte’s first-choice at right wing-back.
I know why the obvious answer should be Spence starting as right wing back for the game against Forest, but Lucas has been a revelation for us in pre-season there.