Djed Spence sends 'special' Tottenham message, Lucas Bergvall applauds

Tottenham Hotspur marked their return to the Champions League with a win and several successful debuts for their young squad.

Thomas Frank's side included six Champions League debutants and the Spurs boss was also making his bow on the touchline of a European group stage match, as the hosts edged Villarreal in North London.

Tottenham's 1-0 win came in fortunate circumstances as goalkeeper Luiz Junior spilled a Lucas Bergvall cross into his own net, as the Spurs midfielder won man-of-the-match on his Champions League debut.

Bergvall was one of three players highlighted by Michael Carrick as key to Tottenham's victory on their first game back among Europe's elite, as Joao Palhinha and another debutant in Pape Sarr impressed.

Tottenham win marks 'special' development for Djed Spence

Alongside Bergvall, Sarr, Richarlison, Guglielmo Vicario and Micky van de Ven, Djed Spence also started to make his Champions League bow for Tottenham and played the opening 69 minutes at left-back.

Spence's career has been on an upward trajectory since his return to the Spurs first-team last season, and this culminated with a first England call-up and subsequent debut for the ultra-versatile 25-year-old.

After being replaced by Destiny Udogie as the Italian, Brennan Johnson and Kevin Danso also made their Champions League debuts, Spence posted on Instagram at full-time to mark the occasion for Spurs.

Bergvall reacted with 'love heart eyes' and 'applause' emojis to Spence's post, which said: "Champions League Debut – Special Night in N17".

Tottenham ready for new heights after Champions League boost

Football Insider Verdict

Stefan Borson has told Football Insider that Tottenham's owners could boost Frank's transfer kitty by £100million in the near future, with the door well and truly open to a part-takeover deal in North London.

With their Champions League campaign off to a winning start and the league phase not culminating until the end of January 2026, Frank can bolster his squad significantly to mount a charge for the knockouts.

Spence won't want to lose his place anytime soon and has his eyes on the England left-back spot, and if his current trajectory continues at pace, there'll be no question over who should start on the flanks of Spurs' defence.