Djed Spence's Future Amid Tottenham's Rebuild
Roberto de Zerbi has spent the summer tearing into Tottenham’s squad with a “shark” mentality. Now he wants to make sure one of his biggest projects doesn’t swim away.
Djed Spence, 25, is at the centre of it.
The England defender, tied to a long-term deal and heavily linked with Inter Milan and Everton, is being pushed to make a decision. De Zerbi has been clear with him, as he has with everyone else.
“I would like you to stay if you want to stay. If you don't want to stay, if you want to leave, then you have to leave,” he said, placing the choice firmly in the player’s hands rather than the club’s.
Spence, Porro and a ruthless rebuild
Spence started 23 of his 30 Premier League games last season as Spurs scraped survival, finishing 17th for the second year running. In most clubs, that level of involvement would guarantee status. At De Zerbi’s Tottenham, it only guarantees a conversation.
The problem for Spence is obvious and it wears a World Cup winner’s medal. Pedro Porro owns the right-back berth and De Zerbi has gone as far as calling him the best in the world in that role. That is the standard. That is the bar Spence has to clear if he stays.
All of this unfolds against a backdrop of unprecedented spending. Tottenham have already thrown a club-record £237m at this window, a desperate and deliberate attempt to ensure the final-day escape act is not repeated.
The Italian is not just trimming at the edges. He is ripping out the foundations and laying new ones.
Romero, loyalty and the line to the exit
Some of the old guard are already halfway out of the door.
Captain Cristian Romero is among those expected to leave. His decision to fly back to Argentina while injured before the final game of the season sparked anger, even though he ultimately returned to play.
De Zerbi refuses to make him a villain.
He described the defender’s conduct under his watch as “unbelievable behaviour” and insisted the criticism of that trip was misplaced. But he also accepts reality: it is “his will” to go, and the manager is not in the business of begging anyone to stay.
At the start of his reign in April, De Zerbi sat down with players one by one. Hundreds of conversations, by his count.
“At the beginning of my time in April I had, I don't know, one million individual meetings. And the players told me if they are (staying) here (or not),” he explained. His message in return was blunt: help me keep this club up, and I’ll help you move on. Fail, and you “stay underwater with me.”
Survival was secured. The promise stands. The door is open.
Italian goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario is another expected to walk through it after losing his starting spot to Antonin Kinsky. Established names are learning quickly that reputation means little if they cannot match the aggression of the club’s new direction.
Money, muscle and a “bomba” to come
If departures show De Zerbi’s ruthlessness, the arrivals show his ambition.
Earlier this month Spurs broke their transfer record twice in 48 hours. First came Mateus Fernandes from West Ham for £85m, then Sandro Tonali from Newcastle for £100m. Jan Paul van Hecke arrived from Brighton for £52m. On top of that, a trio of seasoned operators – Marcos Senesi, Andrew Robertson and Martin Dubravka – joined on free transfers.
This is not a quiet rebuild. It is a loud, expensive statement that the relegation fight is over and a new identity is being constructed at speed.
De Zerbi says around 60% of the project is done. The rest will not be subtle.
Speaking in Sydney, he promised “another ‘bomba’” in attack. Spurs are in advanced talks for Manchester City’s Brazilian forward Savinho and are also chasing another unnamed attacking target. When pressed on whether he wanted a winger or a striker, he didn’t bother narrowing it down.
“Attackers,” he replied. The brief is simple: more goals, more threat, more edge. He rejects the notion of fallback options. “I don't love working with plan A, plan B, plan C. It is plan A, full stop, because all players are not the same.”
The message to the recruitment team mirrors the one to the dressing room: commit fully or don’t bother turning up.
Stay, fight… or get out of the way
In that context, Spence’s situation becomes a test case for the new Tottenham.
On one side, a manager who sees him as an important part of the plan, even with Porro in place and fresh competition everywhere after a record-breaking summer. On the other, a market full of suitors and a player weighing up his role in a team being rebuilt at breakneck speed.
De Zerbi has already shown he will protect his players publicly, as with Romero, and back his own judgement aggressively, as with Porro and the avalanche of signings. He has also shown he will not cling to anyone who hesitates.
He says he has been like a shark in this window, circling targets and striking when the moment is right. The question now is simple: when the water finally settles, will Djed Spence still be swimming with him, or watching this new Tottenham take shape from somewhere else?
