According to 90 min, Tottenham Hotspur failed with a late £12m move to sign Middlesbrough right wing-back Djed Spence in the January transfer window.
Juventus duo Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancour were the only two players to arrive through the door at Spurs in January.
The club were unable to strengthen at right wing-back after they lost out to Barcelona in the pursuit of Adama Traore, who Antonio Conte allegedly wanted to convert into a wing-back (Telegraph).
Spence, who is currently on loan at Nottingham Forest from Boro, was reported to be another option the Lilywhites were considering late in the window (The Northern Echo’s live transfer blog – 31/01/22 at 8:55 AM).
90 min have now revealed that Spurs did make an offer for the 21-year-old late in the window.
It is explained that Conte’s men were looking to complete a deal for Spence in January in order to avoid the increased competition for the youngster’s signature in the summer.
However, Tottenham’s offer of £12m plus add-ons was allegedly knocked back by Boro, who valued Spence at closer to £15m.
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It would not have made much sense for Spurs to complete a deal for Spence in January, considering that the rules preventing him from playing for the club this season since the 21-year-old has already represented both Boro and Forest.
Besides, the fact that Spence’s contract at Riverside Stadium runs only until 2023 (Transfermakrt) means that he will be a lot cheaper in the summer as he would only have 12 months left to run on his deal. So Spurs had nothing to gain by paying extra to sign the youngster in January.
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