Djed Spence is at a loss as to why things did not work out well for him at Tottenham Hotspur but the right-back insisted that he still learned some valuable things from his experience at the North London club despite his lack of game time.
There was plenty of excitement at Spurs about Spence’s arrival from Middlesbrough 18 months ago, with the right-back signing for the Premier League side on the back of an exceptional season on loan at Nottingham Forest in the Championship.
However, the youngster struggled to get a look in for much of last season under Antonio Conte. Some Spurs fans would have hoped that Ange Postecoglou would be the man to get the best out of the player but the Australian decided to ship the full-back out on loan to Leeds last summer.
After Daniel Farke’s men decided to cut short his loan at Elland Road last month, Spence completed a temporary move to Genoa at the end of the season, with the Italian side having the option to sign him permanently for £8.5m in the summer (Fabrizio Romano).
Djed Spence doesn’t know why things didn’t work at Spurs
The 23-year-old has made a positive start to life at the Luigi Ferraris Stadium and should he carry on in the same vein, one would expect the Serie A club to exercise the option to buy next summer.
Over the last few weeks, some outlets have suggested that Postecoglou had been unimpressed with the former Boro star’s behaviour since pre-season, with there being question marks about his punctuality and his attitude in training (The Standard).
However, Spence does not appear to have been informed of any of these issues, with the right-back insisting that he does not know the reasons behind his struggles at Hotspur Way.
When asked why things did not work out for him at Tottenham, he told the print edition of Gazzetta dello Sport (as relayed by Sport Witness): “This is football. I couldn’t explain the reasons. What is certain is that when you don’t play, it’s difficult to demonstrate your value.
“There is no point in asking too many questions. But I believe that even in difficulties, there is always something to learn. Whoever the manager is, he makes you richer inside.”
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The fact that Ange did not even hand Spence an opportunity to showcase his qualities suggests that it had to do with off-field issues. The Australian sets high standards in terms of the behaviour he expects from his players and the 23-year-old evidently fell short of those standards.