Tottenham Hotspur may endure an issue in the transfer window in attracting young players following the struggles Djed Spence endured in north London.
Should Djed Spence be given a chance?
Spurs signed the England youth international over the summer and it was apparent from the moment that he signed he may find it difficult to impress Antonio Conte.
The Italian spoke about the signing of the 22-year-old during their pre-season trip to South Korea as he left many stunned with what he had to say:
"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.," he said.
And that proved to be the case with the Englishman featuring for just three minutes in the Premier League across four games (via Transfermarkt).
Spence has since left the club on a short-term loan deal to French side Rennes and is set to return at the end of the campaign.
Tottenham have also made changes with Conte since leaving the club, but speaking on The Tottenham Way podcast, journalist Tom Barclay has suggested the treatment of Spence may put off other youngsters from joining the club:
(42:00) "Speaking to agents, one thing that's come back which is quite interesting, just about the Djed Spence situation. Tottenham have got a history of signing good, young, English/British players.
"I think the Spence's situation is making a few young players think a bit about Spurs now because they don't want to be in the same situation as what as he has been, making that big move to Tottenham and not getting an opportunity at all."
Do Spurs offer youngsters opportunities?
On the basis of this season, there are few examples of Spurs putting their trust in their youngsters with Oliver Skipp, perhaps, the only player to be really offered the trust of Conte.
And even that came as a result of injuries to the likes of Rodrigo Bentancur and Yves Bissouma which have seriously whittled down the options in midfield.
Spence's situation was certainly an odd one with the position of right wing-back one which was crying out for improvement before the turn of the year.
Emerson Royal and Matt Doherty were failing to impress and it felt as if it could have been a real opportunity for Spence to make his mark on the side.
Albeit in a closed behind-the-scenes game, Spence impressed in a friendly against Motherwell during the World Cup break with Alasdair Gold awarding him an 8/10 for his display.
Now Conte is out of the building, it will be interesting to see whether the view from the agents may have changed, however, there could be a big reliance on who is to replace him.
The likes of Mauricio Pochettino would certainly offer a lot of opportunities for the young prospects, but it is still unclear as to who will be hired by Daniel Levy.
