John Wenham has claimed that Djed Spence may be set for a bigger role at Tottenham Hotspur over the second half of the season.
Spence has failed to break into the side since arriving at Spurs in the summer from Middlesbrough after impressing on loan at Nottingham Forest as they gained Premier League promotion.
The 22-year-old has featured in just three Premier League games, as a last-minute substitute in all of them after the dye had been cast on the match, he failed to appear in the Champions League group stage and played just 25 minutes of Spurs’ Carabao Cup defeat against his former side Nottingham Forest.
However, Spence played 75 minutes of the Lilywhites’ 4-0 friendly win against Motherwell on December 9, ahead of both Emerson Royal who has ousted him so far this campaign.
This has led Wenham to tell Football Insider that the opportunity for a bigger impact this season is there for Spence to grab if he can continue impressing in the friendlies and training sessions.
“I want to see Spence and hopefully see him stake a claim to play a bigger role in the second part of the season.
“Doherty and Emerson Royal have been training with Spence in front of Conte for the last few weeks so Spence doesn’t have a better chance to prove himself.
“Lots of minutes for Spence would suggest he might have a big role to play in the second part of the season,” Wenham said.
TIF Thoughts on Wenham’s comments…
The English right wing-back – hailed “unbelievable” by Ian Wright – will be frustrated with his lack of involvement but the mid-season break could be his lifeline at the club.
Despite Royal and Matt Doherty sharing the majority of the minutes in the starting XI, the pair are 11th and 15th on Spurs’ average league ratings by WhoScored, with Spence ironically bottom owing only to his lack of minutes.
It’s surely the best chance the 22-year-old has to win a place or even remain at the club with previous rumours of a loan move away for more game time.