ESPN have now revealed that Djed Spence’s camp was puzzled when Antonio Conte referred to him as a ‘club signing’ as the Italian himself had persuaded the right-back to join Tottenham Hotspur.
The £20m that Tottenham paid to sign Spence from Middlesbrough 18 months ago now seems like a poor investment after the Lilywhites allowed the right-back to join Genoa on loan until the end of the season, with an option to buy for £8.5m.
However, there was plenty of excitement about the 23-year-old’s arrival at Hotspur Way at the time, with many being excited about the youngster’s potential.
Djed Spence was hard done by under Antonio Conte
In fact, ESPN say that Tottenham saw off competition from a number of clubs to land Spence, with the likes of Borussia Dortmund, AS Roma, Brentford, West Ham United and Nottingham Forest all showing interest in the player.
Additionally, it is revealed that Bayern Munich, Manchester United and Chelsea were also in touch with his representatives and were contemplating offers.
The report alleges that Antonio Conte himself spoke with Spence directly during the negotiations to convince him to move to the North London club.
The outlet adds that when the Italian later referred to the England Under-21 international as a ‘club signing’, it led to a lot of frustration in the player’s camp, given the role the former Spurs boss had played in his arrival.
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It is possible that Spence might have not been Conte’s first choice but the Italian still decided to do his part to help the club win the race for the 23-year-old.
It has been widely reported by the likes of Alasdair Gold that the right-back was a Fabio Paratici signing. While there has never been any doubt over his talent, it appears as if the club did not do due diligence on the youngster’s character.