Djed Spence believes that Spurs will come to rue missing out on a young French starlet, describing the player as a ‘generational’ talent.
Spurs’ transfer policy of signing young, up-and-coming talent rather than experienced campaigners has not been universally popular among the supporters.
However, it is difficult to argue that the recruitment strategy has not been successful. Lucas Bergvall, Archie Gray, and Wilson Odobert now seem extremely prudent signings, while the likes of Pape Sarr and Destiny Udogie have also proven to be hits, when considering the fees they were acquired for.
There was one other 19-year-old who was heavily linked with a move to Spurs last summer, and Spence believes that the Lilywhites have missed out on a real gem.
Tottenham missed out on Desire Doue last summer
During last summer’s transfer window, a number of outlets claimed that Tottenham were plotting a move for Desire Doue.
However, an offer never appeared to be forthcoming from the North London club, with Paris Saint-Germain eventually snapping up the versatile attacker for €50m (£41.7m) last summer from Rennes.
The teenager has made a bright start to life at Paris, and although he is yet to establish himself as a mainstay in PSG’s starting eleven, Spence, who played with Doue at Rennes, is convinced that he is on his way to the top.
Spence told Rio Ferdinand Presents: “You guys know Desire Doue? We played together at Rennes, he’s generational, he reminds me of Neymar. He’s proper Neymar-esque like a regen, when I trained with him he was 17 and I was like ‘this guy is gonna be crazy man’ and he’s at PSG now.”
Will Spurs continue with their strategy of signing youngsters?
One would expect Johan Lange and Spurs’ recruitment team to persist with their policy of signing young players with a high resale value this summer.
While Spurs fans might not like to hear that, the club will argue that the strategy will pay off in the long-term, with the likes of Bergvall and Gray arguably on course to evolving into world-class players.
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