Tottenham Hotspur look like a team reborn at the moment.
Just a month ago, Ange Postecoglou’s side looked utterly bereft of ideas on the pitch, and there was a real sense that the Australian would soon be out of a job.
The return of injured stars has undoubtedly helped the North Londoners’ cause, but the manager has also been able to extract some brilliant performances out of those who’ve remained fit.
Ipswich Town (A)
4-1 (W)
Manchester Utd (H)
1-0 (W)
Brentford (A)
2-0 (W)
Leicester City (H)
2-1 (L)
Everton (A)
3-2 (L)
In fact, one of his now regular starting full-backs has been so impressive that he’s now being compared to one of the leading players in his position, who is worth a king’s ransom.
Spurs' options at full-back
In Spurs’ first game of the season, a 1-1 draw away to newly-promoted Leicester City, Postecoglou opted to start Pedro Porro at right-back, who scored, and Destiny Udogie at left-back.
The result was undoubtedly a disappointing way to kick off the campaign for the Lilywhites, but neither full-back was disastrously poor nor to blame, as reflected by journalist Alasdair Gold’s decision to award the Italian a 6/10 match rating at full-time and the Spaniard a 7/10.
The pair have since started the majority of league games that they have been fit for since then.
Appearances
37
24
Minutes
3065′
1881′
Goals
2
0
Assists
7
1
Goal Involvements per Match
0.24
0.04
Minutes per Goal Involvement
340.55′
1881′
However, summer signing Archie Gray has massively stepped up for the League Cup and Europa League games, as well as occasionally covering for the pair when they’ve been sidelined in the league.
Interestingly, while Sergio Reguilon is still a part of the squad, he has been limited to just 242 minutes of action across five cameo appearances this term, and with his contract expiring in the summer, his exit looks all but guaranteed.
Fortunately, Postecoglou probably won’t miss him, as his final full-back option has arguably been the most impressive this year and has won comparisons to some of the most valuable defenders in the country despite looking like he was on his way out of N17 only a few months ago.
Spurs' £79m star in the making
Now, Ben Davies and even Micky van de Ven can and have played as full-backs for Spurs before, but when it comes to the club’s future, there is one player who looks set to make the position their own for years to come: Djed Spence.
The incredible 24-year-old joined the club from Middlesbrough in the summer of 2022 for around £20m, but until this season, he was rarely a part of the first team, instead going out on loan or, as he did for the start of this campaign, sitting on the sidelines.
His future was so uncertain that just five months ago, Postecoglou decided to leave him out of the club’s Europa League squad, a mistake he has since corrected.
Appearances
19
Starts
13
Minutes
1297′
Goals
2
Assists
2
Goal Involvements per Match
0.21
Minutes per Goal Involvement
324.25′
The Englishman began to show his immense quality in the early League Cup games before coming in as cover in the league games from mid-December, and since then, he’s been practically undroppable.
In fact, while he might not have quite the same ability to whip balls into dangerous areas as Porro, the “swashbuckling” defender, as dubbed by Ian Wright, is much more secure on the ball, has a real ability to maraud up the touchline, and perhaps most importantly, is far more secure in defensive situations than the Spanish ace.
The 6 foot dynamo has been so brilliant for the Lilywhites this season, that he has been likened to some of the most exciting full-backs in England, including Manchester City’s incredible Josko Gvardiol.
The comparison primarily stems from FBref, which compares players in similar positions in the Premier League, then creates a list of the ten most comparable players for each one, and in this instance, has concluded that the Croatian is the tenth most similar full-back to the Spurs star.
Non-Penalty G+As
0.21
0.20
Goals per Shot
0.17
0.15
Goals per Shot on Target
0.50
0.45
Expected Assists
0.08
0.09
Goal-Creating Actions
0.31
0.25
Interceptions
1.04
1.07
Ball Recoveries
4.58
4.58
The best way to see where this comparison has come from is to look at the underlying metrics in which the pair rank closely, including, but not limited to, non-penalty goals plus assists, goals per shot and shot on target, expected assists, goal-creating actions, interceptions and more, all per 90.
While being compared to one of the most exciting full-backs in the Premier League is already encouraging enough for the Lilywhites ace’s potential ability, it could also be very good news for his future price tag.
For example, according to Football Transfers, the former RB Leipzig star is now worth up to a whopping €95m, which converts to about £79m.
So, if the Englishman is so statistically similar to the City star, then there is no reason to think he won’t be worth as much a few years down the line, especially if he keeps his current form up.
Ultimately, Spurs have a few talented full-backs at their disposal, but at the moment, it appears that Spence is the pick of the bunch and could be one of the very best in the country in time.
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