Tottenham have been dealt a significant blow in their pursuit of Nottingham Forest right-back Neco Williams, with Forest closing in on extending the Welsh international’s contract – a development that arrives at precisely the wrong moment given Inter Milan’s ongoing interest in Djed Spence.
According to The Telegraph, Forest are moving to tie Williams down to a new deal. Spurs had previously enquired about the Welshman, who won Forest’s Player of the Season award last campaign – the kind of form that makes a club act quickly to protect an asset rather than field calls from London.
The timing is awkward. Williams had been identified as a natural like-for-like replacement for Spence should the England full-back depart, and with Inter Milan now in active talks with Spurs over that very possibility, Tottenham may find themselves simultaneously losing one option and failing to land the obvious cover.
Spence Situation Running in Parallel
Inter Milan’s interest in Spence has moved into the talks stage, with the Serie A club keen to push a deal through. Spence, who impressed at the World Cup this summer, is reported to be open to the move to Italy – which is rarely the kind of detail that helps a selling club’s negotiating position.
The sticking point is money. Spurs’ asking price remains above what Inter are currently willing to offer, a familiar standoff in the transfer market. Whether the gap closes is another matter entirely, but Spence’s valuation has been a point of contention in previous transfer discussions, and Spurs will not want to be seen selling cheaply a player who just had a tournament.
The Full-Back Picture Looks Thin
With Pedro Porro secured on a long-term deal, the right-back situation at least has one settled element. But the prospect of Spence leaving and Williams signing a new Forest contract would leave Spurs needing to find a different solution entirely – and with the window already well advanced, the options narrow by the week.
The spurs-web.com report notes that Tottenham have already committed £237 million on incoming transfers this window against £85.1 million in sales – a net spend of £151.9 million across ten pieces of business. Adding full-back cover into that equation is not a crisis, but it is a problem that is becoming more pressing the longer both situations remain unresolved.
