Djed Spence: ‘Major questions for Ange Postecoglou at Tottenham’
Ange Postecoglou has questions to answer about how Djed Spence has been used for Tottenham this season, Troy Deeney has claimed.
Having joined Spurs from Middlesbrough in the summer of 2022 the right-back struggled to establish himself in North London, being loaned out to the likes of Genoa, Leeds United and Rennes.
After remaining with the club for this season, Spence was finally handed his first start in Tottenham colours on Sunday (15 December) in the 5-0 thrashing of Southampton.
It was an opportunity he took by providing an assist for the first of two James Maddison goals within a minute of kick-off at the start of an excellent performance from the 24-year-old.
That has left Deeney wondering why Spence has not been used more by Postecoglou this season, after naming him in his Team of the Week.
Writing about the Tottenham man in his BBC Sport column, the former Watford and Birmingham striker said: “I don’t understand why he hasn’t been playing, that’s a question for Ange Postecoglou.
“It looked like it wasn’t going to work out for him last year, but he’s come back in in the summer and worked hard and been patient. Again, he was excellent and solid and looked like he had been playing all season.”
Djed Spence surely set for more Tottenham outings
Football Insider Opinion
Reacting to his performance against the Saints at the weekend Spence did indicate he is keen to get more opportunities this season.
In the wake of this performance he has made a strong case to be given more game time given the positive impact he made at St Mary’s.
Tottenham are having to compete in a number of different competitions this season and so it makes sense that they have as many players as possible in contention to be used to cope with those demands.
After a mixed recent run of form, the pressure was arguably also starting to build on Postecoglou in North London, as he looks to earn his club’s long trophy drought.
There may therefore be some questions, as Deeney suggests, as to why he did not bring Spence into the side earlier in an attempt to change things after what happened here, and why the former Middlesbrough man didn’t get a look in before now.
Given we have now seen just what he can do, it would be even more of a surprise if we did not see the Tottenham boss give the 24-year-old another go sooner rather than later.
In other news, Tottenham are planning to sign two players in the January transfer window.
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