Djed Spence Analysis

“He needed to sort himself out, really. I basically said to him that you can go to the top, or you can go non-league.”

Neil Warnock

There’s a fair amount of information here for us to view, and the trick in my mind is to cut to the chase and give a thumbnail sketch of what is before us now, as the player sits on someone else’s forecourt.

We are not 12 and here to imagine how really brilliant he might become with better players around him and a better team of coaches working with him.

There are so many factors to process, and what I like to do is employ evidence-based facts like a banister on a staircase to help guide us when the light blows.

To err on the side of caution, to take the pragmatic view, is the only way to proceed, or we may as well just call it day and leave up a big sign saying ‘he’ll be electric!’ which can apply to everyone.

The two parties were incapable of getting a deal done prior to Spurs departing for South Korea. This isn’t the end of the world, however, it does point to unhelpful brinkmanship from either Levy or Spence or both.

If we look at the boy’s heat map, we clearly have an attack-minded player, and once we peer a little closer, Spence is not so much defensively suspect, but someone simply not pointing in that direction.

Tactically, it is not a dealbreaker as Conte operates with a backline that accommodates movement, as opposed to a flat back-four, that naturally weakens as it expands to subsidize absences.

Once we begin to focus on the attacking side of Djed’s game, the value is easier to identify.

Naturally, the idea is to accentuate the positives in Spence’s game and so whilst general defensive coaching would be useful, one doesn’t buy a cat and then try to train it to act more like a dog.

Neil Warnock identified the situation, even if he wasn’t willing or able to exploit it at Middlesborough.

“He needed to sort himself out, really.  I basically said to him that you can go to the top, or you can go non-league.”

“I think Steve Cooper is the manager for him, to be honest. He has let him go forward more often, which suits his game.”

If Spurs are to make a success of this young man, then I would suggest they either don’t coach him as they have Ryan Sessegnon (who is neither one thing nor the other), or they primarily focus on the 21-year-old’s strengths.

I have maintained that Spence’s talents at this stage are comparatively modest, and if we look at the outcomes of his final third dribbles, there’s a distinct case for focussing on decision-making and programming the lad with a set of countermeasures that can aid his progress.

The 21-year-old was notably praised for his impressive performances in the FA Cup victories over Leicester City and Arsenal, so there are grounds for a certain amount of belief that Djed can account for himself against tough opponents.

Djed needs, as do many, guidance to convert his dynamism and forward-thinking play into a greater number of successful outcomes. Two goals and four assists are promising, but far from exceptional.

The learning curve will be steep. That’s not a criticism, that’s called a reality that applies to everyone. Awareness when not in possession, defensive positioning, and occasionally poor decision-making are all areas that will need to improve.

Emerson Royal has shown signs of improvement – perhaps Antonio Conte knows where there’s a box of spare bulbs.