The version of Djed Spence we see at Tottenham today is a stark contrast to the player he was when he first joined the club, so let’s dive into his fascinating story.
It’s safe to say Djed Spence did not have a good start to his Tottenham career. He was shunned time and time again by various different managers and failed during loan spells elsewhere.
But, under Ange Postecoglou, he eventually got himself right back on track and he’s now well and truly fulfilling his potential.
Spence is an important figure in Thomas Frank’s squad now, but there’s so much to learn about the versatile full-back. Here’s everything you need to know.
Life at Tottenham was difficult for Djed Spence
Arriving at Spurs with plenty of hype, there were big hopes that Spence could finally be the replacement right-back the club had been searching for since letting Kyle Walker leave, but things did not work out for him under Antonio Conte.
In the 2022/23 campaign, Spence made six appearances for Tottenham, amounting to just 43 minutes of game time. He spent the second half of that season on loan at French side Stades Rennais.
When he returned, Conte was gone, but Postecgolou didn’t feel Spence was right for the squad and the young defender was loaned out to Leeds United for the 2023/24 campaign.
However, his loan spell there was cut short, with manager Daniel Farke implying there may be some kind of behavioural issue leading to the decision. A move to Italian outfit Genoa for the second half of the season helped repair his reputation somewhat and the Italian side were keen to sign Spence on a permanent deal.
But, over that summer, Spence knuckled down and showed an impressive turnaround in his attitude. It was enough to win Postecoglou over, and he was retained for the 2024/25 campaign.
Spence a new contract at Tottenham keeping him at the club until 2028. On that decision, Postecoglou said: “With Djed, it could have been easy for to go out on loan again. But when he came into pre-season, he was determined to make a career for himself here at Tottenham rather than wait to be loaned out.
“He did everything right in training, his attitude was great. He’s a good footballer, I think the way we play suits him and he’s knuckled down to that. And he’s earned himself a spot on the roster in our squad.”
The only negative for Spence this term is that he was left out of Postecoglou’s Europa League squad for the league phase, meaning he had to make do with domestic cup action and a bit-part role in the Premier League.
However, Spence was drafted into the Europa League squad for the knockout stages and played a valuable role in Tottenham’s run to the trophy.
He’s since shown his value once more, playing across the defence and even in a winger role for Thomas Frank.
Djed Spence is a versatile defender
Djed Spence is primarily a right-back, but he can also function at left-back as he has done time and time again for Spurs under both Postecoglou and Frank.
In the past, Spence’s athleticism and attack-minded sensibilities made him a fairly useful right-winger, too, but he generally operates more defensively.
At present, Spence is pretty much the first-choice understudy to both Pedro Porro and Destiny Udogie, filling in on either side of the defence when needed.
Where did Spurs sign Spence from?
Spurs signed Djed Spence from Middlesbrough in 2022, but he previously played for Nottingham Forest rather prominently, too.
Spence began his career with the Fulham academy before switching to Middlesbrough as a youngster. He made 70 appearances for the senior team there, but fell out of favour when Neil Warnock took over.
From there, he enjoyed a successful loan spell with Nottingham Forest in the year they won promotion from the Championship, scoring five goals and registering three assists. He was named in the EFL Championship Team of the Season and the PFA Championship team of the season in 2022.
After impressing in the second tier, Spurs snapped him up, with Spence opting for the big move rather than staying with Forest.
Djed Spence’s salary and market value
Djed Spence’s market value has skyrocketed over the last year or so, with Transfemarkt now having his price tag at around £27.85m. Back in October 2024, he was valued at just £6.65m.
Tottenham reportedly paid an initial £12.5m to sign Spence in 2022, with add-ons potentially taking that deal closer to £20m. His market value dropped significantly since then, largely due to his lack of game time over his first two years at the club.
Now, thanks to his increasingly important role at Spurs, he’s rising in value quickly.
He has also seen his salary shoot up, too. Spence previously earned just £25,000 per week at Spurs, making him one of the lower earners in the squad.
However, he signed a new deal in October 2024 and got a payrise. Spence now earns £40,000 a week, which is still on the low side, but a significant improvement on his previous terms (as per Capology).
England career
Spence had to wait a long time to make the step up but he finally made his England debut in September 2025. He came on as a substitute in the World Cup qualifier against Serbia, playing 21 minutes at right-back in the 5-0 win.
In October 2025, he played the full 90 minutes in two games against Wales and Latvia, again keeping a clean sheet in both matches.
Spence’s personal information and social media
Djed Spence was born in London, England, on August 9, 2000. His full name is Diop Tehuti Djed-Hotep Spencg.
He is an English citizen, but also has Jamaican and Kenyan heritage due to his father and mother respectively. Spence has represented the England Under-21s on six occassions and could have switch national allegiance if he wanted to, but he’s now made his full England debut at senior level
Spence is 1.84m tall and weighs just 71kg. Like many in the Spurs squad, he is a tall but lean young man with a very athletic build.
You can find Spence on Instagram, where he has over 425k followers, or on Twitter/X, though he is far less active on that platform, with just under 78k followers.
Djed Spence’s sister
Funnily enough, Djed Spence is not the only member of his family who is popular among the Spurs fanbase. His sister, Bria, has quite the following on social media after her videos of attending matches went viral.
Bria attends various Spurs matches and documents the whole thing with a lighthearted and fun approach. She also once pranked Djed by hijacking an interview (see above) and asking him unusual and very personal questions.
For more on the Spurs squad, check out our profiles on Guglielmo Vicario, James Maddison, or Dominic Solanke.