Tottenham Hotspur have enjoyed a promising campaign in the Premier League but supporters will now hope for a convincing run of form across the final two months, with Champions League qualification on the line.
"I don't see fourth as the prize. This club has finished fourth before. It's finished second before. I don't want to finish fourth if we haven't grown as a team and developed as a team. If nobody believes me then that's fine."
These are the words of Ange Postecoglou, who views growth as a unit as his side's real success during his maiden term at the club.
While Champions League football is not the be-all and end-all, fifth-placed Spurs would find retaining their most coveted assets far easier.
Trailing Aston Villa in the top four by just three points – while holding a game in hand – highlights the significance of succeeding in this endeavour, lest failure allow top talents like Pedro Porro to search for pastures new.
Why Pedro Porro could leave Spurs
Porro joined Tottenham from Sporting Lisbon on loan in January 2023 and made the move permanent for £40m last summer, having now cemented himself as one of the squad's most important and influential players.
As per Sofacore, the Spaniard has racked up seven assists from 25 top-flight appearances this season, creating ten big chances and averaging 1.7 key passes, 2.8 tackles, 5.8 ball recoveries and 4.9 successful duels per game.
Naturally, Manchester City are eager to snap the 24-year-old up, with the Premier League champions looking to re-sign the player after allowing him to leave during his younger years.
However, Spurs chairman Daniel Levy isn't willing to play ball and has touted Porro at a staggering £100m, with the "bulldog" – as he has been described by teammate Dejan Kulusevski – one of English football's standout stars this year.
Without Champions League football, Porro's signature is coated with a slippery layer that City will use to wrestle him out of the north London club's clutches.
1.
Dejan Kulusevski
£68m
1.
Destiny Udogie
£68m
3.
Pedro Porro
£51m
3.
Micky van de Ven
£51m
3.
Cristian Romero
£51m
3.
Brennan Johnson
£51m
It wouldn't be the first time Pep Guardiola's outfit have raided Tottenham for a right-back, with Kyle Walker completing a £53m transfer back in 2017 (a world-record fee for a defender at the time).
Should the unthinkable materialise, it just so happens that Postecoglou might already have the perfect replacement out on loan in Djed Spence.
Why Djed Spence could have a Spurs future
Spence signed for Tottenham from Middlesbrough in a £20m package back in 2022 and there was much excitement after Brian Laws gushed over the young wing-back following his promotion-winning loan spell with Nottingham Forest in 2021/22.
The former Forest star said: "He has been the standout player in the Forest side and we are talking about a full-back. Full-backs do not tend to get many headlines. He grabs them by the handful. In every single game, he has a positive impact.
"He has power going forward, he has electric pace, he has an abundance of skill, he can drop his shoulder, step over, go inside or outside — he is a major threat. I’ve been impressed with his one-to-one defending. He is decent on the back post, he is strong in the air. There is nothing I have seen that you could call a weakness.”
However, since making the move to Tottenham Spence has fallen by the wayside, only completing three minutes in the Premier League under Antonio Conte (41 in total) – who admitted he did not want to sign the 23-year-old – before being shipped out on loan to French club Rennes for the latter half of the 2022/23 campaign, only featuring eight times in Ligue 1 but catching the eye after completing 89% of his passes, winning 61% of his duels and succeeding with 63% of his dribbles, as per Sofascore.
There's a player in there but disciplinary issues are hindering Spence's chances of success, having seen his loan move with Leeds United this season ended prematurely in January after falling out of favour with head coach Daniel Farke, since moving out to Italy to complete the remainder of the year with Genoa, who Radu Dragusin arrived from.
Genoa supposedly have the option to sign Spence for around €10m (£8m), but after impressing in Serie A perhaps Postecoglou should consider giving the dynamo another shot.
Indeed, Il Grifone held Juventus to a goalless draw in Turin at the weekend and Spence starred, completing 92% of his passes, making one key pass, winning five of his ten contested duels, making three tackles and two clearances and interceptions apiece.
Under Postecoglou, in a stable and progressive Spurs environment, Spence could finally find the stability he needs to make a successful career in the Premier League, potentially saving the club millions if Porro departed for a team such as Manchester City.
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Moreover, given that he's actually been compared to the erstwhile Lilywhite right-back Walker, he might just have the skills to succeed down N17.
Analyst EBL was one of the first to draw the comparison, taking to X (formerly Twitter) to pen his thoughts: "Djed Spence is special. He's a ridiculous athlete who could be used like Kyle Walker in defensive transition or as a powerful runner from deep. Only question is his dedication to the sport after his run in with Neil Warnock. If that's in check, he'll be an elite right back."
Spence's versatility and fleet-footed pace do make for qualities that few right-backs can emulate, but Walker is arguably the cream of the crop in this regard, having recorded the fastest speed in the 2022/23 Premier League at 37.31 km/h – despite being 33 years old. To put that into some context, fellow speedster Micky van de Ven has been clocked at 37.38 km/h this season.
Whether Spence – who is yet to play a single minute for Postecoglou – will forge the career that was once touted for him is anybody's guess, but he has the natural ability to succeed and he may yet find a regular starting berth at Tottenham.
