Djed Spence’s journey from out-of-the-picture to outstanding performer has been remarkable.
A hard-working London boy with a dream of playing at the top level, he never lost sight of his goals and persevered through adversity to realise his ambitions.
Some of the challenges he’s faced in his young career so far, many players do not come back from.
But to his utmost credit, he overcame everything he encountered, enjoyed what in his own words was a “breakthrough season” last term where he became a firm favourite in N17 and this week inked a new, long-term contract with the club as he looks to kick on again in 2025/26.
Taking a quiet moment to reflect on his storied journey to date, Djed told us how empowering the Spurs faithful – along with his family – has been during his rise to the top.
“It’s a good feeling when you hear the fans supporting you and I just want to repay them with good performances and by winning games,” he said. “It makes me feel good. It makes you feel unstoppable. When they get behind us, get behind the team, it’s like... I can’t really explain it, it’s just amazing. Without the fans, it would be very hard to get where you want to get to.
“Friends and family, too – they’re important. You need to have a strong team around you and my family is definitely one of those. Probably a lot of fans know them as well, they come to a lot of the games and they show me so much support. I think that’s really vital and I’m very grateful.”
Released by Fulham as a teenager, Djed moved to the north-east in 2018 to reinvent himself and his career with Middlesbrough. After emerging onto the senior stage at the Riverside, he shone on loan at Nottingham Forest in 2021/22, winning numerous individual plaudits as he helped them to promotion to the Premier League. A dream move here to Spurs followed that summer, continuing his upward trajectory and landing him that top-flight chance he'd craved since childhood.
However, after a cameo debut against his old club at the City Ground in the opening weeks of 2022/23, Djed made only six substitute appearances in his first two years in north London and was loaned out to Stade Rennais in France, Leeds United and then Italian side Genoa as he struggled to make an impact here.
“I joined in 2022 at 21 years of age and it was difficult, a rollercoaster ride, but I’ve fought every challenge and been resilient,” he reflected. “Fast forward and I’m here now, I’m playing and I’m happy, so I’m just over the moon with this new contract really. I guess everyone has trials and tribulations but you know, I’m a fighter, so I always work hard, try to do my best and come back from everything. What’s changed from then to now? I’m not sure really. I guess I was just given my chance and I’ve taken it, so that’s the main difference.”
That chance came in the summer of 2024. A solid pre-season campaign saw the former England Under-21 international start afresh and after being reacquainted with the Premier League, a key moment arrived when he scored his first goal for the club – a crucial late strike at Coventry City to keep us in the Carabao Cup last September. From there, he never looked back, shining throughout the winter on both sides of our defensive line and playing his way into our Europa League squad for the knockout phase of the competition. Not registered at the start of the tournament, he played against AZ Alkmaar and Eintracht Frankfurt before coming off the bench to help us over the line in Bilbao. Earlier this month, he started the Super Cup against Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain and played 90 minutes as we began the new Premier League campaign with victory over Burnley on Saturday.
“It was like a dream come true,” he said, looking back on our Europa League success. “It’s amazing, a European trophy. It’s the stuff you dream of as a kid, so it was very special. Personally, I think it was a great season for myself last year, probably my breakthrough season in the Premier League, you could say. It went really well, I was happy with myself and hopefully this year I can continue like that and get to new heights.”
We asked Djed the simple question; have you changed throughout all of this? After taking a moment to consider his answer, he thoughtfully replied: “I don’t think so. Some people might say I have, but I don’t think so. I think I’ve always been the same. Things might have changed but no, I honestly think I’ve just been the same throughout.
“Saying that, I’ve definitely grown and I’ve learned a lot over the past few years, being in different countries and learning new things. Sometimes it’s hard, travelling a lot and being by yourself but I think you’ve just got to be resilient, fight for your place, treat people right and work hard.
“I always had my family (throughout the loan spells) but they obviously didn’t live out there with me in those countries so I went there alone, although I was surrounded by good people to be fair. When I was in Italy in particular, the club looked after me, I had a few of the boys who looked after me out there straight away so I settled in quite quickly, wherever I was really.
“Even just going back 12 months, I don’t think anything has changed. I feel like I’ve just worked hard, tried to be consistent, tried to put in good performances, listened to my coaches, taken on information and tried to implement it in the games. Wherever I play, left or right, I feel comfortable and I’m happy. It’s good for me and it’s good for the team as well to be versatile. I’m happy with myself, I’m still learning the positions but I’m going to get better day by day, just by training and playing.”
Casting his mind towards the future as we set out on the new campaign, Djed revealed how he’s hit it off with some of the new faces at Hotspur Way this summer: “The new manager, Thomas Frank, he’s been amazing with me to be fair,” the 25-year-old said. “He speaks to me a lot and gives me confidence. I think that is very important for a player. And the new boys as well – I’ve met Mo (Kudus) and he’s probably one of my closest friends here now. I don’t know why, we just kind of clicked. Since he’s come here, we speak a lot and we challenge each other a lot as well, so it’s good. I’m very happy and I just want to keep playing well at a high level.”
Watch | Djed Spence discusses his new contract