Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy has left in frustration after a deal to get rid of a player at the back of Ange Postecoglou’s plans collapsed leaving the club looking for a new solution and with the player now back in education with his first team.
Spurs’ supreme pragmatist wasted no time in getting rid of some of his unwanted stars this summer, agreeing to let Tanguy Ndombele, the club’s failed record holder, leave for free, while also allowing Japhet Tanganga, Eric Dier and Ivan Perisic to leave. Tottenham have also negotiated the £10m sale of defender Joe Rodon to Leeds, and the departure of the Welsh defender helped pave the way for Archie Gray’s record-breaking move to the N17.
However, there is still a lot of work to do for Tottenham, Levy and Postecoglou. They made immediate progress under the popular Australian trainer in his first season in charge, finishing fifth.
But after topping the table after 10 matches, their failure to retain at least a top-four finish will have left all members of the club with lasting disappointments, and progress to be made.
To this end, more breakdowns will be agreed before the end of the season, and Postecoglou will not be able to remove more players from his squad who are not part of his long-term vision at the club.
Sergio Reguilón is one of the stars expected to leave, he is another person for whom the club will probably have to settle for a heavy monetary burden.
And the club would also be open to receiving offers for Danish midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg if they get a suitable offer for the former Southampton and Bayern Munich player.
One guy who already falls into the unwanted category is Djed Spence.
The full-back was a signing at Levy’s insistence in the summer of 2022 when they paid Middlesbrough £20m for their facilities after a whirlwind season on loan with Nottingham Forest in the league.
However, as Spence did not please then-manager Antonio Conte, the right-back soon moved and joined Rennes in France on a temporary contract.
Last season he was loaned out again, this time to Leeds, but was then sent back to Tottenham when the January window opened after a falling out with Whites manager Daniel Farke.
That prompted a move to Italy with Genoa and it looked like Spence had found a permanent home after making 16 appearances in Serie A and the Italian made it clear that he was looking to sign the 23-year-old permanently.
Upon signing the loan from La Rossoblu, the deal included an option to make it permanent for €10m (£8. 5m).
However, Genoa were going to reduce that payment to closer to €7m (£5. 9m), believing Spurs would be willing to negotiate given the player did not have a long track record in north London.
This is a smaller amount than Levy is willing to accept and, despite lengthy discussions to find a solution, BBC journalist Nizaar Kinsella has shown that the deal is done.
As a result, Spence has now returned to pre-season training with Tottenham, where he will look to improve his fitness ahead of a potential move elsewhere.
Although he has been put to the test, it is understood that the former England U21 foreigner will get a second chance and efforts to pull him off will continue.
Spurs hope to negotiate a permanent sale, but will have to take a hit on their initial investment, while a loan with legal liability to purchase could also be considered.
Spence’s contract with Tottenham runs until the summer of 2027.