Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly interested in signing the Middlesbrough defender Djed Spence this summer.
According to a report from Evening Standard, the 21-year-old full-back should join the London club this week and the two parties are currently in the process of finalising a fee of around £20 million.
The 21-year-old has been quite impressive for Middlesbrough in the Championship and he could develop into a long-term asset for Spurs. He picked up three goals and five assists across all competitions last season.
The Londoners have brought in multiple right-backs in the form of Emerson Royal, Matt Doherty and Serge Aurier over the last few seasons but none of them have been able to impress on a consistent basis.
It will be interesting to see whether manager Antonio Conte can help the 21-year-old defender hold down a regular starting berth at the London club.
Spence is far from being a finished product but he has the attributes to develop into a quality Premier League footballer.
The highly-rated full-back will add pace, agility and creativity down the flanks. The youngster is an outstanding dribbler who could add a new dimension to Tottenham’s attack with his overlapping runs.
However, he will have to work on the defensive side of the game in order to deal with the top-class Premier League attackers.
Conte has been known to use full-backs as vital cogs in his system and the 21-year-old could be a valuable option for Spurs in the coming years.
The reported £20m fee seems like a reasonable price for a player of his potential and Spence should be able to justify the outlay in the long run.
Players like Marcos Alonso and Achraf Hakimi have flourished under Conte in a wingback role in the recent seasons and Spence will be looking to develop under the tutelage of the world-class Italian as well.
The Premier League side have already completed the signings of Richarlison, Ivan Perisic, Fraser Forster and Yves Bissouma to add quality and depth to their squad. Spence is likely to improve them even further.