It’s clear to see what Ange Postecoglou is trying to do at Tottenham and, when they don’t have multiple key players out injured, they’ve been superb.
In addition, Spurs have some of the best youngsters in the Premier League, and in addition, Djed Spence has well and truly made a name for himself.
Spence’s Tottenham future was uncertain at the start of the season, but he went from the fringes of the team to becoming one of the first names on the teamsheet.
Rio Ferdinand has now spoken about Spence, sharing what he’s seen in the Spurs defender that he hasn’t “seen in a defender for a long time”.
Rio Ferdinand wowed by Djed Spence’s confidence
Ferdinand, speaking on Rio Ferdinand Presents, spoke of the interview he conducted with Spence that, at the time of writing, was set to come out soon.
The Premier League legend, speaking alongside Joel Beya and guest Joleon Lescott, said the Spurs full-back’s confidence really stood out for him.
Lescott then said: “The confidence comes from actually doing it, and what he’s saying, you can then combat it against things that haven’t happened,
“And, as he said, if you look at his 1v1s, how many players going past Djed?”
Ferdinand continued: “That’s what he said he spoke about 1v1s and there was some confidence I ain’t seen in a Defender for a long time.”
Lescott then said: “But it’s true because there would be footage of it happening if it wasn’t true, do you know what I mean? If what he’s saying wasn’t true there’d be evidence of it.”
Ferdinand recently spoke highly of Spurs cult hero Aaron Lennon, choosing him as the speed option as he designed his ultimate Champions League footballer.
How Djed Spence has turned his Tottenham career around
Spence went from being an apparent near-certainty to be sold in the summer to securing himself a new Spurs contract until the summer of 2028.
The £20million man worked especially hard in pre-season ahead of the 2024/25 campaign and forced his way into Postecoglou’s plans.
In February, Postecoglou revealed how Spence “just kept going” when other players could have just cut their losses and moved on.
The Tottenham boss said this made a real impression on everyone around him, which enabled him to get the opportunity to get to where he is now.
“We knew that certainly there was a player there, but a lot of it had to be up to Djed himself,” said the Spurs boss.
“And he’s just worked really awfully hard and stayed patient through that early period.
“You know, it could have been easy for him to get frustrated when he wasn’t playing a lot. There was opportunities for him to play and he wasn’t getting a run.
“I think looking at his attitude through that, I think there was real growth for him personally in that maybe in previous years, he might have sort of given up the fight and said, ‘you know, right, I don’t fit in here, let’s just move on,’ but he just kept going.
“That makes an impression on people around him, me, his team-mates and, he earned his shot at it and he’s just grown since then.”
