Last week the Athletic reported that Tottenham Hotspur were in negotiations with Djed Spence for what would be his second contract extension in less than a year. Today, the club made it official, posting the announcement on their social media channels and on their website.
It’s a nice time to make an announcement like this after a solid win in Spurs’ first Premier League match of the season, and one in which Djed played a pretty important role on both sides of the ball. Curiously, Spurs did not mention any contract details in the announcement — you don’t expect them to say what a player’s new salary is, but you would expect them to say at minimum when the contract expires. But we don’t get that, so my guess is that’s it’s a marginal bump in contract length that is more to do with a pay raise than anything else. Spurs do mention it’s a “long-term contract with the Club,” so… yay?
“I’m over the moon, happy to sign. I just can’t wait to start the season and get going. I just want to keep playing well and reach a higher level.
“Everyone has trials and tribulations, but I’m a fighter. I always work hard, try to do my best and come back from everything. It’s been difficult, it’s been a roller-coaster road for every challenge. I’ve been resilient and fast-forward, I’m here now, I’m playing, I’m happy. I’m just over the moon.
I mentioned this in the player ratings piece, but Djed not only looks comfortable in the left, I think he may actually turn out long term to be Thomas Frank’s first choice. Ironic, considering he’s notionally a right back and you’d expect him to be the rotation for Pedro Porro. Maybe he still is that, but so far in this young season he’s certainly making a case to start out left ahead of the currently-injured Destiny Udogie.