‘Happened very quickly’ – Rennes director reacts to signing Djed Spence from Spurs

Rennes technical director, Florian Maurice, has said that he was delighted to be able to snap up Djed Spence on loan from Tottenham, insisting that it was a market opportunity the Ligue 1 club could not pass up on.

With Pedro Porro arriving through the door at Hotspur Way on deadline day, Spurs offloaded Spence to make way for the Spaniard, with the right-back not having started a single game for the Lilywhites since arriving from Middlesbrough in the summer.

The 22-year-old will be hoping to get his career back on track in France and recapture the sort of form he showed for Nottingham Forest in the Championship last season.

Spence’s time at Roazhan Park has certainly started on a promising note, with the youngster proving to be one of Rennes’ most potent attacking threats in his debut on Sunday, although Bruno Genesio’s men fell to a disappointing 3-1 loss to Lille.

Following the right-back’s debut, Maurice has admitted that his relationship with Fabio Paratici proved crucial in getting the deal over the line.

The Rennes technical director told Stade Rennais Online about the Spence signing: “It happened very quickly. I am very happy and excited to see him.

“I think it’s interesting to get these players from these clubs. We already did it with Joe (Rodon) this summer. It was an opportunity for him and us.

“I have a rather good relationship with Fabio Paratici, the sporting director of Tottenham, who worked for a long time at Juventus Turin, with whom I had a good relationship when I was at Lyon.

“It’s market opportunities that make it so. There is no particular link. The opportunities in the position meant that Djed wanted to get some playing time. We wanted to recruit a right-back. Our paths came together.”

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The fact that Genesio has been playing with wing-backs over the last month or so, would have perhaps convinced the Tottenham hierarchy that Rennes would be the right move for Spence in order for the 22-year-old to learn about the demands of playing in Conte’s system.

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