Djed Spence had a tumultuous time at Tottenham, but regularly showed glimpses of what he could do and delivered on that promise in a huge way at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Cashing in on that stock, Spence swapped London for Milan, signing with Inter in the summer of 2026. Here, we take a look at all you need to know about the versatile full-back, recapping his Spurs career from early struggles, to staking a claim under Ange Postecoglou, throguh to his eventual exit.
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.
However, 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.
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.
So much so, 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. He was retained for the 2024/25 campaign.
Spence signed 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.
He was drafted into the Europa League squad for the knockout stages and played a valuable role in Tottenham’s run to the trophy. For the 2025-26 season, Spence played 44 times across all competitions for the Lilywhites.
That included 30 Premier League appearances, with Spence playing across the defence and even as a winger under a mix of Thomas Frank, Igor Tudor and Roberto De Zerbi. But, come the summer of 2026, his Spurs story ended.
Why did Djed Spence leave Spurs?
Spence joined Inter Milan for £30m, with both the full-back and Tottenham arguably making the most of his World Cup hype.
Ultimately, it was a case of De Zerbi being unable to guarantee Spence the minutes that he wanted according to media reports. That left Spurs adopting the position that should an acceptable offer come in, they would not stand in his way – which is exactly how things played out.
Interest in Spence was driven by his stellar World Cup. He had, had to wait a long time to make his England debut but it finally came in September 2025, playing 21 minutes at right-back in a 5-0 win against Serbia in a World Cup qualifier.
He was part of the 2026 World Cup squad, playing a role in all seven matches as England lost in the semi-finals to Argentina. Spence earned rave reviews from the tournament, especially for a stunning last-ditch tackle in that semi-final. He showcased his versatility too, playing both right-back and left-back for Thomas Tuchel’s team, and became something of a national darling.
He was linked with a multitude of clubs, but ultimately it was Inter that won the race.
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.
In the past, Spence’s athleticism and attack-minded sensibilities made him a fairly useful right-winger, too. He did start Tottenham’s final game of the 2025-26 season against Everton out on the right. Generally, though, he operates more defensively.
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.
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 1.1 million followers, or on Twitter/X, though he is far less active on that platform, with just under 100k followers.
Djed Spence’s sister
Funnily enough, Djed Spence is not the only member of his family who is popular among the Spurs fanbase. One of his three sisters, 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.
Another of Spence’s sisters, Karla-Simone is an actress, who appeared in the ITV X series, The Confessions of Frannie Langdon, earning critical acclaim. She also appeared in the 2024 miniseries, The Count of Monte Cristo, alongside Hunger Games actor, Sam Claflin.
For more on the Spurs squad, check out our profiles on Guglielmo Vicario, James Maddison, or Dominic Solanke.