Tottenham Hotspur have two good left-back options in Djed Spence and Destiny Udogie, but which player should be starting more often?
Djed Spence has been enjoying his football at Tottenham Hotspur this season. He has started most of their games due to Destiny Udogie struggling with an injury, but the Italian returned to the starting lineup against Brighton.
Udogie has usually started for Spurs when he is available, but Spence’s performances have impressed the masses. This includes Thomas Tuchel, who recently called the 25-year-old up to the England squad for the very first time.
Tottenham supporters have debated which player should be Thomas Frank’s first choice, and it is certainly not an easy decision.
Destiny Udogie and Djed Spence are both good players
Udogie and Spence are not identical in the way they play, but there are some similarities between the defenders. Both are versatile players who can defend well, but Spence has the edge when it comes to defending. This is particularly true when it comes to one-on-one situations.
There is not much to separate Udogie and Spence when it comes to attacking. However, Udogie is left-footed and can easily get balls into the box. He is also more likely to make strong overlapping runs, which are particularly useful when partnered with a winger who likes to cut inside. Spence is good at dribbling, but he is not able to play as directly.
The combination of Spence and Xavi Simons has certainly raised questions, with Frank sharing his concerns after the West Ham victory about the players being out of sync with each other.
Another of Spence’s weaknesses is making individual errors. He likes to take risks, which often include dribbling on the edge of his own box, and this sometimes causes problems. However, this has been less apparent in recent matches and is likely due to Frank’s influence.
Spence and Udogie should both get starts for Tottenham
Spence took his time making it to the first team, so it can be forgotten that he is actually more than two years older than his fellow left-back. The fact that Udogie has been the player starting most of Tottenham’s matches is impressive. Despite this, the England international has clearly stepped up his game in the past year, and he deserves to be playing.
Then again, so does Udogie. It is simply too difficult to repeatedly start one and bench the other. Therefore, there are other factors to take into consideration. Form is one of the biggest, and that could be used to determine which of the players starts each game.
Another factor is how Frank decided to adapt his tactics depending on the opposition. There could be certain games where it would be useful to have a natural left-footer like Udogie and other matches where Spence’s dribbling and strong defensive contributions are required.
It seems best for Frank to take it on a game-by-game basis. He has two very good left-backs and rather than leaving one feeling isolated, he should continuously assess them before making a decision over who starts and who warms the bench.
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