De Zerbi's First Tottenham Mission: Keeping Djed Spence

Roberto De Zerbi has not been at Hotspur Way long, but the new Tottenham head coach has already drawn a line under one piece of business. He wants Djed Spence to stay.

The England defender's future has been a recurring sideshow for Spurs across multiple windows. Loaned to Rennes, then Leeds United, then out of the picture entirely under Ange Postecoglou, Spence has felt less like a Tottenham player and more like a permanent movable asset. De Zerbi's intervention, delivered publicly, changes that calculation.

De Zerbi's Public Commitment to Spence

Tottenham manager Roberto de Zerbi says he wants to convince England defender Djed Spence to stay at the club.

Managers rarely commit publicly to retaining fringe players unless the intention is genuine. De Zerbi could have deflected, offered the standard "we will assess the squad" response, and quietly moved Spence on. Instead, he chose to be specific.

The Italian's tactical system demands dynamic, aggressive fullbacks who can invert, overlap, and carry the ball through opposition lines. At Middlesbrough and on loan at Nottingham Forest, Spence demonstrated every one of those qualities. He has proven himself in English football. The raw profile works. What has never quite aligned is the fit between Spence's strengths and Spurs' previous setup.

Porro's Grip and Postecoglou's Blind Spot

Under Postecoglou, Tottenham's right-back position effectively belonged to Pedro Porro. The former Sporting CP man was an ever-present, allied to an inverted left-back, with the entire vertical structure built around overlapping fullbacks.

Spence returned from his Leeds loan last summer carrying both injury baggage and a reputation for being hard to place. Postecoglou did not use him. The defender spent months training away from the first-team picture. The club made subtle attempts to move him on without success.

De Zerbi's football is possession-heavy but direct, built on positional interchanges and attacking fullbacks who commit defenders one-on-one. That is the canvas Spence painted best during his Championship breakout.

The Questions Spence Still Faces

De Zerbi can want, but the player has to accept. Spence is England-capped, has European experience, and is approaching his mid-twenties, an age where career stability matters more than potential.

Has the previous damage been repaired? Is there a genuine pathway if Porro remains the starting right-back? Can De Zerbi offer a defined role, or is this simply a delay before an eventual sale?

Spence has been here before. Committing to Spurs and then being frozen out benefits nobody. For De Zerbi, convening the player face-to-face, presenting a tactical plan, and being transparent about expectations will matter more than any public statement.

Spence at a Glance

• Age: 24
• Position: Right-back
• Contract: Runs through 2027
• International caps: Included in England senior squads
• Previous loans: Rennes, Leeds United

Retention as a Transfer Strategy

Spence represents something different from a standard signing. He is already on the books, already integrated into the city, already proven in the league. If De Zerbi can get the version of Spence that tore through Championship defenses, Spurs add a high-quality asset without spending a pound.

Tottenham's early business has been deliberate rather than explosive. De Zerbi appears set on developing talent already in-house rather than wheeling and dealing. Keeping Spence and fitting him into a system that actually suits attacking fullbacks would be the first real evidence of that approach.

Pre-season will offer the first visible clues. If Spence plays, and plays in a role that makes tactical sense, the message becomes operational. If he is absent from the tour squad, the public statement reads as little more than a diplomatic pause.