In many ways, this has been the summer of Djed Spence.
Making Thomas Tuchel’s England squad for the World Cup was a major achievement when you bear in mind he almost left Tottenham Hotspur in 2024 after a five-month loan at Genoa, only for the Italian club to decline to take up an £8.5million ($11.5m) option to sign him permanently.
But across June and July, Spence became a household name, charming fans back home with his desire to defend, game-changing cameos from the bench and a reserved charisma in interviews.
One tackle he made on Giuliano Simeone in the 2-1 semi-final defeat to Argentina (below) remains among the highlights of the tournament for England fans, with the cheers across the nation for that moment as loud as they were for Anthony Gordon’s goal earlier in the match.
(Thomas Coex/AFP via Getty Images)
Many Spurs fans were looking forward to giving Spence a hero’s welcome upon his return to north London as a newly minted international star. However, just as his career enters its most exciting phase, the Tottenham chapter of it has now closed.
They have agreed to send the 26-year-old back to Serie A for €30million (around £25.6m; $34.6m). Only this time, he is going to the Italian champions, Inter, underscoring how rapidly his reputation has grown in the two years since his loan to Genoa.
It is a transfer that has split opinions within the Tottenham fanbase, centred on that fee. ‘International stars’ in the prime of their careers and with several years remaining on their contract (three in this case) at a ‘Big Six’ club in the Premier League rarely move for less than £60million.
But as much as Spence thrilled over the summer, his standing in the wider game does not entirely reflect his standing at Spurs — and for that reason, this is a deal that makes sense for all parties.
In an interview with the BBC during the World Cup, Spence said he “prefers” right-back because it’s his “natural” position. In a separate conversation with UK newspaper The Guardian during the tournament, he said he is still learning to play at left-back, having deputised frequently in that role since Tottenham’s then-head coach Ange Postecoglou plucked him from the cold amid an injury crisis in late 2024.
Unfortunately, Pedro Porro, fresh off starting all five knockout games to help Spain win the World Cup, is the club’s first-choice right-back. If Spence left the United States last month as a breakout star, Porro established himself as one of the world’s elite full-backs.
Typically a standout performer for Spurs irrespective of the team’s wider struggles, Porro took his game to another level this summer when playing within a settled, possession-heavy system under Luis de la Fuente, and was recognised for his outstanding performances with a place in FIFA’s official team of the tournament.
Tottenham rewarded Porro with a bumper long-term contract extension a few days into the World Cup, which now ranks as one of their shrewdest moves of the summer, owing to his footballing connection and personal bond with their head coach Roberto De Zerbi, who described him as “the best right-back in the world” in an interview with reporters during the recent pre-season tour to New Zealand and Australia.
A champion’s return for our Pedro 🤍🏆 pic.twitter.com/CDLBpCWZuM
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) August 13, 2026
As well as potentially being their best player, Porro, 26, is also Tottenham’s most durable star.
Amid the season-wrecking injury crises that have haunted them over recent years, Porro has racked up the most minutes and most appearances, only missing one month in January and February this year due to a hamstring injury.
Put plainly, if Spence was going to play right-back for Spurs, he would have to unseat a player the club’s performance staff believe is a physical outlier and whom the head coach ranks as peerless in their position.
Sure, he could be a perfectly serviceable backup for Porro, but in the prime of his career, perhaps Tottenham owe him the chance to try to be something more than that.
Never in his four-year spell on Spurs’ books, which also includes loans to Rennes in France and Leeds United in the Championship, has Spence been first-choice at his preferred position. Spence didn’t even get the chance to play right-back during Porro’s absence in February, as he was needed to fill in on the left. Only 10 of his 59 starts for Tottenham came at right-back or right wing-back.
Djed Spence hurdles the challenge of Giuliano Simeone during Spurs’ 5-2 defeat against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League in March (Thomas Coex/AFP via Getty Images)
That’s before you consider that he is not a natural fit for De Zerbi, who directed Porro to push into midfield and occupy the right half-space across his seven-game stint in charge at the end of last season, amplifying his technical ability and close control. This role is at odds with Spence, who is more comfortable as a dribbler, operating closer to the touchline.
It is not yet clear whether Spurs will target a replacement, but finding a backup on the continent with a similar profile to De Zerbi’s first-choice — perhaps not as accomplished or skilled, but content to play a squad-rotation role — should be fairly straightforward. For reference, Bournemouth have signed right-back Juanlu Sanchez from Sevilla for around €11million in this window, while proven Premier League left-back Lucas Digne left Aston Villa for Paris Saint-Germain in a deal worth between €7m and €8m.
Their left-back situation?
Aside from Spence’s stated preference to play on his natural side, Spurs have recruited two new left-backs in 2026, one of whom is Andy Robertson, a Premier League and Champions League winner with Liverpool. He will also be competing for that spot in the team with Destiny Udogie, a natural left-sider who is more comfortable receiving the ball on his stronger side and progressing attacks.
Udogie’s patchy injury record is a concern, but with Robertson, Souza (the now 20-year-old Brazilian signed from Santos in January) and even Micky van de Ven, a centre-back at club level who typically plays left-back for the Netherlands, as backup, a lack of numbers in that position need not be a consideration.
And as he said himself recently, Spence is still learning the position. In that interview with The Guardian mentioned above, he said, “Going forward is a bit different playing on the left because it’s not my natural side.”
What were football transfers like before the transfer window?
Tifo Football
While he remains an excellent one-v-one defender irrespective of which flank he is deployed on, Spence prefers to dribble with his right foot, which limits angles and can close off the pitch, and is not a consistently accurate crosser on his weaker foot.
The fee Spurs are getting may seem minimal in the context of the World Cup but it’s worth remembering that it probably would not have felt particularly low before it.
Though there are exceptions, recruitment departments largely draw their list of summer targets based on performances at club level, not the international game, and Spence has been in and out of a Tottenham side that has struggled over the past two seasons.
He embarks on a new challenge, playing for one of the biggest clubs in the world, and even if Spurs end up regretting the sale, at least they will have helped Spence on his way to finally becoming the main man in his favoured position.