According to the Northern Echo, officials at Middlesbrough are growing fearful that a lack of a formal offer for Djed Spence could be a tactical move from Tottenham to drive down the defender’s transfer fee.
Spence excelled in the Championship whilst on loan at Nottingham Forest last season. The 21-year-old made 42 league appearances for Steve Cooper’s side, scoring twice and assisting five times as Forest successfully returned to the Premier League (TransferMarkt).
The England Under-21 international’s impressive form, which saw him named in the Championship team of the year (PFA), alerted a number of Premier League clubs in January, including Arsenal, Leeds United, and Spurs (Sky Sports).
Sky Sports recently claimed that Spurs are now in advanced negotiations to sign the player, however, Northern Echo understand that Boro are concerned Fabio Paratici may be deliberately delaying a formal offer in the hope of landing Spence for a cut-price fee.
Spurs Web Opinion
If the report is accurate, it seems that Daniel Levy’s old habits may not have completely vanished this summer. I think that Spurs will sign Spence for around £20 million and it is probably likely that it will happen sooner rather than later in order to ensure the player is able to complete a full pre-season with Antonio Conte.
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