Player Watch - Djed Spence - Genoa

[Trix]

After reading the last couple of pages I think I'll just clear a couple of things up. I posted a while back Spence was not Conte's pick, I also posted that there were players Conte had changed his mind about over the back end of the season. Players he initially thought were not up to it and had earmarked to go had changed his mind with their attitude and performances under pressure.

He wasn't overly bothered about bringing in a RWB at all, and I know that will go against the opinion of 90% of the board but he felt with a pre season and coaching he was happy with what we had, and he targeted other area's for improvement over this position. Don't get me wrong, neither Doc or Royal are untouchable by any stretch and if a good offer came in I'm sure we wouldn't be adverse to moving one on and bringing in an upgrade. Fact is though as I keep saying the budget is finite and there are a lot of area's he wanted to improve us, he just didn't see RWB as as important as other positions.

That doesn't mean He's not happy to have him here or didn't want him etc, but as I said it was a compromise from him to get the HG quota in check with very little downside.

 

[WorthATry]

You think he’s going to get rid of a RB that can play RWB fairly well, and keep two RWBs that arent great at RB and an attacker he’s trying to convert to RWB? Interesting take. I thought Conte liked flexibility in his squad.

But he never plays with a RB, so it makes sense to keep the two who can play RWB

 

[wrd]

I'm not upset about Emerson not being moved on unless a fantastic offer comes in to be honest. It did seem like he simply didn't fit in with the team after we changed directions with Conte but there's something about him that I quite like and my hope is we can develop aspects over his game. I know that seems unlikely giving his struggles on the ball but given we have Spence and Doherty, I feel we have enough options where we can risk trying to develop him.

 

[14/04/91]

The more I think about this, not only is Spence not walking into the XI, as several expected, I don’t think he even makes the bench right now, when everyone is healthy.

9 bench spots:

1. Forster - obvious
2. RCB - Sanchez
3. LCB - Lenglet/Davies/New
4. LWB -Sess
5. CM - Skipp/Bissouma
6. CM - Hojbjerg/Bentancur
7. F - Richarlison
8. F/AM - New Player (let’s call him Maddison)
9. ?

That leaves one bench spot for Lucas, Royal/Doherty, and Spence.

Lucas having extra flexibility in being able to play as a defensive winger and an attacking wingback gives him an advantage, and Doherty/Royal having experience and Contes trust gives them each the advantage over Spence.

Spence can come in and win a starting job - I think that is his upside, and it’s Paratici’s expectation that Spence wins the job by next season. But he will have to prove himself on the training ground. Dele was able to do that when he first came in, and maybe Spence can too - but it’s a process not a coronation. Fans need to have patience.

Given the number of injuries & suspensions we will face, I’d estimate Spence will be on the bench fairly regularly but I take your point he would likely miss out if all available.

 

[mawspurs]

Spence was telling teammates from January he was joining Spurs

Djed Spence was reportedly telling teammates as early as January that he was joining Tottenham hotspur this summer.

tbrfootball.com

 

[SpartanSpur]

If he knuckles down I still think he'll be the starting RWB sooner than later. His positive attributes will just be too much for Conte to ignore.

Appreciate the info @Trix. At the end of the day Doherty and Emerson stepped up for him in the run in so I'm not surprised he likes them. I think our 3 RWB options give good balance currently. Emerson has proven dependable defensively, even against the likes of Liverpool and Doherty had a few games pre injury where he was excellent and has the ability to play on both sides. I quite like our set of 5 wingbacks currently with Sess and Perisic on the other side (assuming Reggie moves on).

 

[BorjeSpurs]

Given the number of injuries & suspensions we will face, I’d estimate Spence will be on the bench fairly regularly but I take your point he would likely miss out if all available.

Agree with this - the number of matches missed by our four wingbacks last season due to injury was 33 games. In addition to this, looking at Inter's subs from Conte's last season there he often subbed in both wingbacks on the bench whereas the three centrebacks was often left untouched, meaning their will be more minutes to go around on the flanks.

 

[Aleks]

I'm not upset about Emerson not being moved on unless a fantastic offer comes in to be honest. It did seem like he simply didn't fit in with the team after we changed directions with Conte but there's something about him that I quite like and my hope is we can develop aspects over his game. I know that seems unlikely giving his struggles on the ball but given we have Spence and Doherty, I feel we have enough options where we can risk trying to develop him.

From what I've gathered Conte rates Emerson far more than what a lot of people on here think he does.
His general personality and integration with the squad doesn't hurt either. He seems extremely focussed and mold-able which I'm sure has caught the eye of the coaching staff.

 

[bigfrooj]

But he never plays with a RB, so it makes sense to keep the two who can play RWB

We’ll go the whole season without being forced into a tactical change of formation in match play or through personnel availability? I suppose we could make do. I think we’ll keep all three and Sess and Perisic on the left, giving us the flexibility we need. I don’t see Moura being used as a WB unless we’re in proper trouble.

 

[mil1lion]

Skipp came from a Championship loan and played a lot under Conte the following season, Sess got ahead of Reguilon as our first choice left back and hes only 1 year older. If Spence is good enough he will start. He just knows he has to work hard to get there.

 

[Yid-ol]

Skipp came from a Championship loan and played a lot under Conte the following season, Sess got ahead of Reguilon as our first choice left back and hes only 1 year older. If Spence is good enough he will start. He just knows he has to work hard to get there.

That's my take on it. He isn't one he asked for, but the club see the potential and got him. If he is good enough he will push for a start, if not Conte has Doherty, Royal and Moura if needed to play RWB

 

[greavesy461]

The more I think about this, not only is Spence not walking into the XI, as several expected, I don’t think he even makes the bench right now, when everyone is healthy.

9 bench spots:

1. Forster - obvious
2. RCB - Sanchez
3. LCB - Lenglet/Davies/New
4. LWB -Sess
5. CM - Skipp/Bissouma
6. CM - Hojbjerg/Bentancur
7. F - Richarlison
8. F/AM - New Player (let’s call him Maddison)
9. ?

That leaves one bench spot for Lucas, Royal/Doherty, and Spence.

Lucas having extra flexibility in being able to play as a defensive winger and an attacking wingback gives him an advantage, and Doherty/Royal having experience and Contes trust gives them each the advantage over Spence.

Spence can come in and win a starting job - I think that is his upside, and it’s Paratici’s expectation that Spence wins the job by next season. But he will have to prove himself on the training ground. Dele was able to do that when he first came in, and maybe Spence can too - but it’s a process not a coronation. Fans need to have patience.

This just reminds me how strong our squad is and we're still going for a LCB/CB and AM/WF that could both potentially be of starting 11 (I know squad game...) quality, given remaining budget. Unlikely, but lets say Maddison and Bastoni, where we appear to be loitering for both, are of that quality.

 

[spursfan77]

After reading the last couple of pages I think I'll just clear a couple of things up. I posted a while back Spence was not Conte's pick, I also posted that there were players Conte had changed his mind about over the back end of the season. Players he initially thought were not up to it and had earmarked to go had changed his mind with their attitude and performances under pressure.

He wasn't overly bothered about bringing in a RWB at all, and I know that will go against the opinion of 90% of the board but he felt with a pre season and coaching he was happy with what we had, and he targeted other area's for improvement over this position. Don't get me wrong, neither Doc or Royal are untouchable by any stretch and if a good offer came in I'm sure we wouldn't be adverse to moving one on and bringing in an upgrade. Fact is though as I keep saying the budget is finite and there are a lot of area's he wanted to improve us, he just didn't see RWB as as important as other positions.

That doesn't mean He's not happy to have him here or didn't want him etc, but as I said it was a compromise from him to get the HG quota in check with very little downside.

It has felt like that this window. We haven’t pushed hard for any players on the right except for Spence. Maybe he thinks he can get enough from perisic coming in on the other side in terms of goals and assists.

 

[AtoubaToothpaste]

Conte has Doherty, Royal and Moura if needed to play RWB

That's the problem. I don't think Spence is up to being a top RWB in the short term so we're left as weak as we were last season. As happy as I am with the business we've done so far, I can't help but felt underwhelmed still with RWB (and CB), but I am more than happy to be proven wrong. I'd be overjoyed if Spence can come in and perform from the off.

 

[spuradik]

On Overreaction in social media on this Conte quote ….


Did these people really thought all this time… Conte followed Spence career in championship & wanted him ?

Of course he is a Club signing , a Paratici signing who personally scouted him .

Some sections of fans can’t be satisfied always. Point is Paratici wanted Adama, Conte said No. Paratici also wanted Spence , Conte had now said Yes.

I hope Djed does the talking on the pitch and proves himself

Correct me if I'm wrong, but IIRC it was the club that had scouted Spence while Mourinho was here, long before Paratici. Even the ITK have been using 'the club' as the one interested. Nowhere have I heard about Paratici having to do anything related to the Spence saga, not scouting, negotiating or otherwise.

And just to be clear, I don't disagree with any of the other points you've mentioned. If Conte is fine with us signing Spence, then I'm good.

 

[arunspurs]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but IIRC it was the club that had scouted Spence while Mourinho was here, long before Paratici. Even the ITK have been using 'the club' as the one interested. Nowhere have I heard about Paratici in anything related to the Spence saga, not scouting, negotiating or otherwise.

And just to be clear, I don't disagree with any of the other points you've mentioned. If Conte is fine with us signing Spence, then I'm good.

Club may have scouted him in Mourinho times.
But its a well known fact that Paratici was in attendance when Forest hosted Leicester in FA Cup. Paratici was there to check on Spence & Johnson. Spence gave a MOM performance that day scoring a great goal

Tottenham 'scouted' Brennan Johnson and Djed Spence in Leicester clash

Both players were subjected to reported interest from several Premier League sides during the January transfer window last month and have continued to catch the eye

www.nottinghampost.com

 

[TennesseeYid]

After reading the last couple of pages I think I'll just clear a couple of things up. I posted a while back Spence was not Conte's pick, I also posted that there were players Conte had changed his mind about over the back end of the season. Players he initially thought were not up to it and had earmarked to go had changed his mind with their attitude and performances under pressure.

He wasn't overly bothered about bringing in a RWB at all, and I know that will go against the opinion of 90% of the board but he felt with a pre season and coaching he was happy with what we had, and he targeted other area's for improvement over this position. Don't get me wrong, neither Doc or Royal are untouchable by any stretch and if a good offer came in I'm sure we wouldn't be adverse to moving one on and bringing in an upgrade. Fact is though as I keep saying the budget is finite and there are a lot of area's he wanted to improve us, he just didn't see RWB as as important as other positions.

That doesn't mean He's not happy to have him here or didn't want him etc, but as I said it was a compromise from him to get the HG quota in check with very little downside.

This makes a lot of sense when you bring into consideration him moving Lucas into a RWB role as well. He had 3 players to try there so wasn’t too worried about Spence.

 

[Jamturk]

Conte will have observed Spence and for me he is a bit cocky.

This statement by Conte was well prepared.

 

[Roberts84]

He's still a kid. People have become such arses these days... ?

The video shows the odd lack of concentration when controlling the ball - I reckon you could do a similar video of Walker in each of his first three seasons with us but he was and excellent player. People just love being negative - bit sad really

 

[Roberts84]

It is an over reaction for sure, but what has fuelled things was that Conte publicly said he was converting Moura into a RWB, and then subsequently said Spence was a club signing for the future. As such, it is now unlikely Spence will be the flying, powerhouse of a RWB in our first team at the start of the season as most us us had hoped. Hopefully after a few months Conte will realise Spence has all the attributes and will use him a lot.

Seriously???. I think Conte already realises Spence has all the attributes! It may take a month or two for Spence to realise how he fits into a Conte team and what he has to do to earn Contes trust but if Spence works hard to improve he will get playing time. It’s up to Spence and not Conte