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Djed Spence arrives as third Tottenham mistake after Champions League MOTM
Photo by Danny de Groot/Newhouse Media/MB Media/Getty Images
Photo by Danny de Groot/Newhouse Media/MB Media/Getty Images

After swapping Tottenham Hotspur for Inter Milan in the summer, Djed Spence has finally shown his new supporters what he is capable of.

Spence departed Spurs in a £30m deal in the summer on the back of an excellent World Cup campaign for England.

Roberto De Zerbi admitted he was gutted to see the full-back leave, but shared that he could not promise the 25-year-old guaranteed starts, which he was demanding.

The Tottenham boss said when Spence moved to the San Siro: “First of all, I’m really disappointed with Djed, because I love him, we have a great relationship, he’s a very good guy, he’s a very important player, but in the end I have to respect his wishes.

“If he wants to play 38 games, I can’t give my word, any guarantee for the players, especially if we are building a big competition inside of the squad. Right-back is, I think in this moment, one, maybe the best, maybe one of the three best right backs in the world [in Pedro Porro].”

Former Tottenham defender Djed Spence
Photo by Mattia Pistoia – Inter/Inter via Getty Images

Djed Spence shows attacking prowess after Tottenham exit

Fitness problems have prevented the England star from getting too many minutes at the start of the season, but he has now overcome those issues and shown what he can do in an important Champions League encounter against Feyenoord.

Spence, who played as a right wing-back, assisted Inter’s opening goal before playing a key part in the home side’s second, as the Nerazzurri emerged comfortable 3-0 winners over the Dutch side.

For Inter’s opener, the former Spurs man was fed into space down the right wing in the eighth minute. He drove forward and picked out Yann Bisseck near the edge of the penalty box, who curled a left-footed strike into the bottom-left corner.

Then on the half-hour mark, Spence beat Feyenoord fullback Javi Lopez and delivered a cross-shot, which took a deflection off a defender, looping perfectly toward the goalmouth where Pio Esposito rose to head it home from close range.

Watch Spence’s two movements of quality in the final third below:

Spence shows a side to his game he did not at Spurs

While the full-back was rated highly for his one-v-one defending at Tottenham, he rarely produced much going forward. Playing as a right wing-back at Inter, he is already demonstrating that he has the quality to make a difference in the final third. His individual stats from the 3-0 win show that he was a big attacking threat throughout the game.

Unfortunately, it looks like Spurs may have to add Spence to their list of summer transfer mistakes, after selling both Luka Vuskovic and Will Lankshear for well under their current market value. £30m for Spence after his World Cup looks like a steal.

Spence had the joint-highest FotMob rating of 8.2 on Tuesday. Here are his full stats:

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