Middlesbrough boss Chris Wilder has criticised Djed Spence for the apathy he showed towards Boro following the right-back’s switch to Spurs.
On the back of his impressive showing on loan at Nottingham Forest last season, Spurs agreed on an initial fee of £12.5m with Boro for Spence, which could rise to £20m including add-ons (Sky Sports).
The 21-year-old is expected to compete for the right wing-back spot at Spurs and Antonio Conte has hinted that despite the England Under-21 international’s lack of experience in the top flight, he will start for the Lilywhites if he demonstrates his quality in training (Spurs TV).
Spence featured for the first time in a Tottenham shirt in the Lilywhites’ 2-1 win over Rangers at Ibrox on Saturday, coming on as a substitute in the 71st minute.
On completing his move to the North London club, Spence took to social media last week to thank the Forest fans for their support last season.
Wilder has now criticised Spence for not mentioning Boro despite the Teessiders’ role in reviving his career.
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The 54-year-old told The Express regarding the right-back’s switch to Tottenham: “It’s a great deal for a player who has hardly played at all.
“He hardly mentioned us, did he? He mentioned his season at Forest, I thought he might have mentioned the people who brought him in when he got freed at Fulham.”
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There has clearly been some bad blood between the Boro hierarchy and Spence, which preceded Wilder’s arrival at the Riverside Stadium.
Most of the criticism of Spence’s attitude seems to be coming from those at Boro while the Forest fans and players have tended only to say good things about the 21-year-old.
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