- Signed for £20m over the summer
- Only seen late cameo outings so far
- Prepared to be patient under Italian coach
WHAT HAPPENED? The 22-year-old defender returned to his London roots over the summer when Spurs splashed out £20 million ($23m) on his potential after seeing him star on loan at Nottingham Forest last season. Big things are expected of the England U21 international, but questions have been asked of whether he was an addition that Conte asked for after being restricted to just two stoppage-time outings off the bench in the Premier League this term.
WHAT THEY SAID: Spence has said when asked about Conte’s “club signing” comments: "I didn't really see it. I don't really pay attention. I just train, you know, pay attention to my football and train hard. Let the rest do the rest obviously. I mean I want to play not just in the cup, in the league as well so whether my first start comes in the league or the cup, I've just got to be ready. I always believe in myself but football, you never know what happens in football so you've just got to be patient and when the time comes, the time will come."
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Spence’s two cameo outings in 2022-23 have come against Forest and Everton, with his home bow at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium taken in last time out towards the end of a 2-0 victory over the Toffees.
IN TWO PHOTOS:
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GettyDID YOU KNOW? Tottenham (W7 D2 L1) have won 23 points from their 10 Premier League games this season, their highest points tally at this stage of a top-flight campaign since 1963-64 (24 pts – considering 3 pts for a win), finishing fourth that season.
WHAT NEXT FOR SPURS? Spence will be hoping to see more game time this week when Conte’s side travel to Manchester United on Wednesday and play host to Newcastle on Sunday.