French publication explains how Djed Spence got on this week amid poor form

Djed Spence has come under criticism from the French press for the third game in a row after Rennes were knocked out of the Europa League by Shakhtar Donetsk on Thursday.

Spence’s loan spell at Rennes got off to a promising start as the 22-year-old was one of the Ligue 1 side’s best players in his debut against Lille two weeks ago but it has all been downhill for the England Under-21 international from that point.

Djed Spence
(Photo by Tottenham Hotspur FC/Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images)

On the back of Rennes’ defeat in the first leg against Shakhtar last week, Maxi Foot gave him a rating of just 3/10 and expressed concerns over his defensive work.

The on-loan Tottenham man did not fare any better against Clement Foot on the weekend, with Stade Rennais Online giving him another 3/10 and noting that the right-back’s performance was the biggest disappointment in an otherwise positive evening for Rennes.

Despite beating Shakhtar 2-1 at Roazhon Park on Thursday, Bruno Genesio’s men were knocked out on penalties, with a question mark once again being raised about Spence’s defending.

Stade Rennais Online have given the former Middlesbrough man a rating of 4/10, stating: “Very complicated start defensively, notably dropping Traoré on the disallowed goal. Offensively more interesting after half-time, but his defensive shortcomings were too great.”

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The fact that Genesio has shifted to a back four in Rennes’ last two games is not ideal for Spence, given that he was signed by Spurs to play as a wing-back and has worked on adapting to the role for the first half of the season. 

This is not meant to excuse Spence for his bad performances but it is understandable if he is now having difficulty with the additional defensive responsibility that comes with playing as a conventional right-back.

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