TBR Football

Tottenham have had their fair share of transfer near misses over the years.

Indeed, Tottenham could’ve signed Eden Hazard at one point under Harry Redknapp, while Bruno Fernandes almost signed for Tottenham before joining Manchester United.

Meanwhile, back in the mid-2010s, Spurs nearly signed a bright young talent from Liverpool.

Speaking on Filthy Fellas, Jordon Ibe has been discussing his career to date, and he says that before his £15m move to Bournemouth from Liverpool, Tottenham came in for him for £9m.

Ibe says he was angry that he didn’t get the chance to join Tottenham, claiming that he would have wanted to sign for Mauricio Pochettino’s team at the time as they were Premier League contenders.

Jordon Ibe could have joined Tottenham

Ibe spoke about Spurs making a move for him when he was at Liverpool.

Ibe says he found out that Spurs made a bid for him and that he was angry that a move didn’t pan out as he was excited by the idea of joining Tottenham as they were on an upward trajectory at that point.

“The thing is like, even Spurs came in for me, which I found out for like nine million. I was vexed. Because obviously, you know it was like a Premier League contender. At the time, it was that Poch team,” Ibe said.

Jordon Ibe stats for Bournemouth

Ibe was frustrated to miss out on a move to Tottenham, but it’s fair to say that Spurs didn’t miss out too much here.

Indeed, while Ibe was seen as a top prospect at Liverpool, but he never quite reached that potential, as his stats for Bournemouth show.

Some claim that Ibe didn’t work hard enough to fulfil his potential.

Of course, things could have been different under the tutelage of Mauricio Pochettino, but let’s not forget, Ibe was working with Eddie Howe at Bournemouth at this time.

Howe himself is a top manager in his own right, as he’s showing at Newcastle, and if he couldn’t get the best out of Ibe, then perhaps Pochettino wouldn’t have been successful either.

Of course, the entire trajectory of your career can change off the back of one move, and perhaps Ibe would have had a brighter career in football if he’d joined Tottenham instead of Bournemouth.

TBR Football can exclusively reveal that Juventus have their sights set on potentially appointing Fulham boss Marco Silva to replace Thiago Motta.

Tottenham admire Marco Silva as well as one of the managers who could replace Ange Postecoglou if they decide to part ways with the Australian tactician at the end of the season.

Fulham were confident of keeping Silva purely down to the fact that his costly £8 million release clause would be an obstacle for any club in their pursuit to hire him.

But there seems to be a twist in the tale as Marco Silva attracts interest from both Tottenham and Juventus.

Juventus’ advantage over Tottenham in Marco Silva pursuit

Sources have now told Graeme Bailey — TBR Football’s chief correspondent that as Juventus look to make a move for Marco Silva, the advantage that the Italian giants have is that his release clause is less than £2 million for teams outside the Premier League.

While in the summer, Silva’s release clause drops down to £6 million.

TBR Football understands that while Marco Silva is one of the leading candidates for Tottenham in case Ange Postecoglou departs at the end of the season, his release clause has remained an issue for them.

Current Juventus manager Igor Tudor could be handed the job on a permanent basis as well but chief Cristiano Guintoli is looking at other coaches and the Portuguese manager is one who appeals to him. Jamie Carragher described Marco Silva as a “proper coach” and he has proven that at Fulham this season, who are flying high in eighth place in the league this season.

Juventus’ Marco Silva plan B is good news for Fulham and Tottenham

For both Fulham and Tottenham, the hope would be that Juventus turn their attention to bringing in another manager instead of Marco Silva.

The former Everton boss is an expert tactician and especially at Craven Cottage, he has worked wonders.

TBR Football have been informed that Roberto De Zerbi is another name on Juventus’ managerial shortlist.

Since leaving Brighton, De Zerbi has done a fine job at Marseille and he is also being considered for a role in Turin.

Tottenham Hotspur defender Djed Spence was actually a fairly high-profile omission from Thomas Tuchel’s first England squad given his recent form at club level.

Ange Postecoglou had previously been reluctant to turn to Spence but Tottenham’s injury crisis handed the 24-year-old an opportunity, one he’s taken with both hands.

Spence has predominantly thrived as a left-back for Spurs this season, even if it’s Spain international Pedro Porro who he’s been keeping out of the starting XI on the right most recently.

Surprisingly, Ledley King thinks Spence could even play as an attacker – an experiment that Postecoglou seems unlikely to explore just yet.

But the full-back has certainly done enough to at least catch the attention of England’s selectors with his performances in defence – he was unlucky to be overlooked for games against Albania and Latvia.

Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer deliver their Djed Spence verdict

That being said, both Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer delivered their verdict on Spence playing for England on ‘The Rest Is Football’ podcast.

And whilst the duo had been impressed by the Tottenham defender, they recognised all the competition that currently exists in the England set up.

Lineker begun: “He’s doing really well. I think he’s got to do it probably for a longer period of time before he breaks into the squad.

“And we’ve suddenly had an emergence of strongly, I suppose, decent full-backs now at present.

“Even on the left now, you’ve got, obviously, Lewis-Skelly and Lewis Hall at Newcastle would probably get an opportunity at some point – he’s been brilliant for you a lot, Alan, hasn’t he?”

Shearer replied: “I agree. I think it’s really, really unfortunate that we’re really, really strong in those positions. I mean, Kyle Walker came on.

“You’ve got Reece James, you’ve got Trent and as you said, two really good left backs now, so I think we’re all okay in that position.

“But he’s having a good season, you know? And I think it’s right that he actually gets to mention.

“But whether he would get in ahead of those that we mentioned, I’m not sure. Not yet, anyway.

Lineker: “No, but he’s making progress. And he’s started to become a regular in the Tottenham side and that’s the start, and you see where he goes from there.”

What is Djed Spence’s strongest position?

Whether he’s playing for England or not, Postecoglou will need to determine how best to use Spence moving forward.

Destiny Udogie is now back fit and Porro is also available – a duo who were regarded as Tottenham’s strongest.

To take a simplistic view at Spurs’ results when Spence starts on either the left or right of Postecoglou’s defence this season, the side’s win-rate is actually the same.

And it will be interesting to see how Tottenham line up for their crucial Europa League ties against Eintracht Frankfurt next month.

Djed Spence has played with a number of incredible young players throughout his career and one of them is Archie Gray.

Having played alongside Desire Doue and Jeremy Doku at Rennes, Spence would have been keen to discover how talented Gray is after he signed for Tottenham Hotspur this summer.

From day one at Spurs, Archie Gray has stood out and his talent has been no secret. Aaron Lennon lauded Gray’s time at Tottenham as he has had to sacrifice his playing time in midfield to start as an emergency centre-back this season and yet, the 19-year-old has shone.

Ian Wright hailed Gray’s versatility for Tottenham as well and the signs indicate that the North Londoners might have signed one of the most intelligent young players in the country last summer.

Djed Spence has now had his say on the former Leeds United wonderkid.

Djed Spence admits he forgets Archie Gray is so young

Spence perhaps knows Gray’s game better than most, having played with him at the back for much of the ongoing season.

With the versatile midfielder deployed as a left-sided centre-back and the former also playing as a left-back for much of the campaign, they have played in close proximity to each other.

Gray, whose attitude was praised by Alan Shearer has seemingly never shied away from the pressure this campaign and the former Nottingham Forest full-back would have noticed that in particular.

Spence was full of praise for Gray due to how gifted he is while admitting that he often forgets how young his Tottenham teammate is.

Spence said on Rio Ferdinand Presents: “Sky’s the limit for him to be honest. I forget he’s 18 [19 now] sometimes. Sometimes, I’ve to look at myself like, you know, he’s playing out of position, 18, you know. He’s a midfielder playing centre-back and he’s doing well as well.”

“He’s doing well, man, he’s a great talent and the sky’s the limit for him.”

Djed Spence and Archie Gray’s record together at Tottenham

Spence and Gray would have been hoping that Ange Postecoglou’s side were having a better season they have up until now.

But the English pair have the hope of potentially lifting the Europa League this season.

So far, Spence and Gray have been on the pitch 27 times at Tottenham.

The pair have won and lost 12 games apiece while drawing three across all competitions.

Djed Spence has revealed that one of his former teammates and a strong Tottenham Hotspur transfer target from last summer reminds him of Neymar.

Ange Postecoglou had been lining up a move for Djed Spence’s former teammate before the forward opted to move elsewhere.

The teenager’s performance this season and the praise from Spence will leave Spurs kicking themselves that they didn’t push a bit harder to bring him to North London.

Djed Spence claims Desire Doue reminds him of Neymar

Djed Spence claims that PSG winger and former Tottenham transfer target Desire Doue reminds him of Neymar having played together at Stade Rennais.

The teenager has been on fire for the French club this season having produced seven goals and 11 assists in 39 appearances.

Doue scored the winning penalty against Liverpool which sent PSG through to the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

Spence told Rio Ferdinand Presents: “You know Desire Doue, PSG? (We played together) at Rennes, he’s generational, he reminds me of Neymar.

“He’s proper Neymar-esque like regen, when I trained with him at Rennes he was 17 and I was like ‘this guy’s gonna be crazy, man’ and he’s at PSG now.”

Tottenham tried to sign Desire Doue last summer

Tottenham tried to sign Doue last summer but strong competition from Bayern Munich and PSG complicated their plans to land him.

PSG ended up winning the race for the winger as they agreed to sign him for £42 million from Rennes, beating Bayern, Arsenal and Spurs to his signature.

Spurs instead signed Wilson Odobert from Burnley and following a lengthy spell on the sidelines, the winger is starting to show flashes of brilliance.

Tottenham Hotspur star Djed Spence made the headlines back in February following his side’s defeat to Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City.

Spurs haven’t had a great season at all. They are in the bottom half of the table and are almost certain to finish there in May.

But, Tottenham usually cause Manchester City all sorts of problems, and they put up a great fight in the game between the two sides in February.

City won that game 1-0, but what took place between Guardiola and Spence after the full-time whistle caught a lot of people’s eye.

Djed Spence reveals what Pep Guardiola told him after Tottenham lost to Manchester City

Ange Postecoglou named Spence on the bench when Tottenham hosted Manchester City in the last week of February.

Both sides have had underwhelming campaigns, but following Spurs’ 4-0 win over the reigning Premier League champions earlier in the season, their fans hoped for a win.

But, an Erling Haaland goal during a very poor first half from the home side sealed the win for City, who inflicted Tottenham’s 14th defeat of the season in the Premier League.

After the game, Guardiola was spotted playfully slapping Spence and having a few words with him.

The versatile Spurs defender was a guest on Rio Ferdinand’s podcast, and he finally revealed what happened between the two.

“He gave me a hard smack as well, to be fair,” Spence said.

“He was just like ‘Oh, you play like this? You come on and play like this? You run and run and you play like this against my team?’ I was like ‘Yeah’, that sort of thing.

“And he was like: ‘It’s good. You weren’t playing, now you’re playing, it’s good. Well done!”

Pep Guardiola named five Tottenham players who are ‘unstoppable’

Guardiola has often been seen speaking to opposition players and giving them advice after games.

The Spaniard is arguably the greatest manager of all time, and when he says something, players must listen to him.

When quizzed about what he said to Spence back in February, the Manchester City boss revealed that he told the full-back to run less.

“‘Why do you run too much? You should be more calm,” he said, as per talkSPORT.

“Udogie is quite similar, the pace of this team is difficult to… Maybe Liverpool, but they are unbelievable, unbearable, and every time they have the ball and run, they’re unstoppable; Spence, Pedro Porro, Udogie, Kulusevski, Son.

Djed Spence had a notoriously torrid time working with Antonio Conte at Tottenham Hotspur.

Signing for Tottenham in 2022 after emerging as a breakout star for Nottingham Forest, the Englishman seemed like the perfect fit for Conte due to being a high-flying wing-back at the time.

But Antonio Conte did not fancy Spence from day one. So much so that the Italian went out of his way to admit that the 24-year-old was not his signing.

Conte said via BBC Sport: “Spence is an investment of the club. The club wanted to do it. I said OK, this player is young but he showed he can become a good, important player for us. The club decided to buy him.”

Cut to the presence and Tottenham feel Spence can become a top full-back behind the scenes. While Djed Spence has proven his quality this season, it seemed like his time at Spurs was doomed from the day Antonio Conte got his hands on him.

Djed Spence says Antonio Conte “shattered” his confidence at Tottenham

Rio Ferdinand pinpointed Spence’s brimming confidence after interviewing him while speaking to Joleon Lescott.

The former Nottingham Forest defender has every reason to be self-assured due to the season he is having, with Dejan Kulusevski backing Spence to succeed as well.

But under Antonio Conte, Spence has revealed that the Napoli boss “wasn’t happy about anything” regarding him when opening up on his struggles working alongside the former Tottenham manager.

The in-form full-back said on Rio Ferdinand: Presents: “Oh, yeah, most definitely. I felt like whatever I did, I couldn’t…that man wasn’t happy about anything, man. Honestly, yeah.”

“Even if you do the right things, ‘Did I do the right thing?’ because he’s not a really complimenting guy. I think it gets to a point where you don’t even need validation from a coach, you know if you’re doing well or not in your head. Of course, it’s nice to know that a manager…’Oh, you’ve done well today or you’re doing well’ but I think you get to a certain time where you know if you’re doing well or not. It’s just down to the manager if he wants to see it or not.”

Djed Spence admitted his confidence nosedived after being managed by Antonio Conte: “It wasn’t a nice feeling, of course. Especially, I was coming to the club on a high [from Nottingham Forest], I was confident, I was buzzing, I had a great season, just won promotion from my club and when I came in, I just ran into a brick wall really and yeah, I think, it shattered my confidence as well really, obviously, I’m young as well so it’s not nice to hear.”

“My agent at the time, he was saying to me, ‘No, don’t worry about this, we’ve clarified’…yeah, I know I was rubbish at the time but yeah, it wasn’t a nice thing really. I was even going into the club like, ‘What am I doing really?, you know what I mean?”

How much did Djed Spence play under Antonio Conte?

It is understandably why Spence struggled as much as did under Antonio Conte as the Premier League winner did not fancy him one bit.

The versatile defender rarely played and in January, he went to Rennes on loan after signing for Spurs.

In all competitions, Spence played just 43 minutes of football under Antonio Conte at Tottenham.

Before Gareth Bale exploded into one of Europe’s most feared players, the former left-back was once on the verge of being sold by Harry Redknapp Tottenham Hotspur.

Tottenham Hotspur firmly believed in the ability of the Welshman and had to convince Redknapp to change his mind about offloading the player.

The North London club’s data analysts provided the legendary Premier League manager with numbers which ended up convincing him to hand him a new role in the team which transformed his career.

The rest is history as Bale ended up becoming a key player in helping Spurs reach the Champions League under Redknapp all thanks to one key switch.

How Tottenham convinced Harry Redknapp to change Gareth Bale’s position

Damien Comolli has previously revealed how he used data to convince Harry Redknapp to change Gareth Bale’s role in the team from playing as a left-back to left wing.

The former Tottenham director initially had to convince Redknapp not to sell the winger and did so by suggesting a position change.

The youngster had a terrible winless record in matches for Spurs which presumably led to Redknapp wanting to offload him, however, data suggested that Bale could become an ‘outstanding winger’.

Speaking back in 2014, Comolli said: “I’ve been working with data since 2005 and 2006 in terms of recruitment. We did it at Spurs. We used data in terms of team selection.

“Spurs actually told Harry Redknapp where to play Gareth Bale, because he wanted to get rid of him. Data was showing Bale would be an outstanding left winger when they were playing him at left-back.”

Harry Redknapp wanted swap deal of Gareth Bale for Leighton Baines

Joleon Lescott later explained how Redknapp wanted to swap Bale for Leighton Baines at Everton due to his shocking winless record.

Lescott told Sky Sports: “Harry Redknapp wanted to swap him, I pulled Bainsey to one side and had a concertion with him and then he said, ‘They’re interested in swap for Bale’.

“One of the main reasons that didn’t happen was because Bale’s record was so bad that David Moyes didn’t want to swap.”

Gareth Bale’s shocking winless record for Tottenham

Up until 2020, Gareth Bale held the Premier League record for the longest streak of Premier League matches without a win.

Sheffield United’s Oliver Burke ended up breaking that streak during lockdown as he went 25 matches without a top-flight win.

The previous record was unwantedly held by the legendary Real Madrid winger who went 24 matches without winning.

Redknapp brought Bale on for a six-minute cameo against Burnley in September 2009 when the team were leading 5-0 to end his two-year wait for a win in North London.

Arsenal are expected to sign a new striker this summer.

Once Andrea Berta arrives as Director of Football, the Gunners can focus on adding a new frontman to the squad for Mikel Arteta – who has been using Mikel Merino as a makeshift striker after injuries to Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus and Bukayo Saka.

Arsenal have opened talks to sign Jonathan David – who sees his contract with Lille expire in July – which would be an exciting addition, seeing as the Canadian has scored 23 goals in 41 games so far this season.

Benjamin Sesko is an option for Arsenal too – although the Slovenian has a £55m release clause.

Jonathan David – in stark contrast – would be free for Arsenal, and the Lille No.9 has just made an interesting comment.

Jonathan David opens the door to Arsenal move over Tottenham and West Ham

Tottenham are keen to sign David too – as are West Ham – although the man born in New York has now shared an interview which very much suggests Arsenal lead the race ahead of their two London rivals.

The 25-year-old told CBS: “I’m not sure if I’m staying or going, but if I do end up going I think I have to push myself at the very highest level.”

Arsenal currently sit second in the Premier League and are widely expected to qualify for the UEFA Champions League – the highest level of club football – whereas Tottenham and West Ham sit 14th and 16th respectively, with European football highly unlikely for either side next season.

Therefore, David’s comments should very much encourage Arsenal fans as the Gunners battle Spurs and the Hammers for the Canadian’s signature.

Andrea Berta could become an immediate hero

Edu Gaspar did well at Arsenal, signing Gabriel Martinelli for £6m and Martin Odegaard in a £30m deal, but David on a free transfer could well trump anything the Brazilian negotiated, if Berta can pull it off.

The Lille talisman is only 25 years of age – so his best could still be yet to come – while it isn’t just French football where he shines.

David also boasts 31 goals in just 60 games for Canada – better than a goal every other game – proving he can adapt to different surroundings.

If Berta can pull this deal off, it could end up being one of the best moves of the summer.

Mauricio Pochettino’s stance on making an immediate return to replace Ange Postecoglou at Tottenham Hotspur has been revealed.

Recently, Pochettino spoke about his desire to return to Tottenham which led to fans getting excited about the possibility of him coming back to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

The Argentine spent six successful years in North London and became a hero at Spurs, despite not winning a major trophy.

The 53-year-old is being linked with the Spurs job with Postecoglou under pressure and his thoughts on leaving the USA job immediately has been revealed.

Mauricio Pochettino has no immediate plans to return to Tottenham Hotspur and remains fully committed to the USA job, according to BBC Sport.

The former Spurs manager is set to lead the United States to the World Cup in around 15 months as the host nation alongside Canada and Mexico.

But currently, the Argentinian manager is under a bit of pressure given the United States’ recent poor run of form.

His team have just lost to Canada and Panama this international break which means they have now suffered three defeats in their eight matches under him.

Pochettino remains in contact with Daniel Levy, however, the return of their former boss appears very unlikely at this stage as he remains fully committed to US Soccer.

How much is Mauricio Pochettino’s release clause with US Soccer?

ESPN journalist Jeff Carlisle revealed back in September 2024 that Pochettino has a release clause which could worth at least £15m.

TBR Football understands that Tottenham are reluctant to pay £8m for Marco Silva, so having to pay potentially double that for Pochettino makes a deal feel even more unlikely.

Pochettino feels well placed to take on this young Tottenham squad, but given his commitment to coaching the United States at their home World Cup and his hefty release clause, a move seems unlikely to happen anytime soon.