Don’t make me say the phrase, I’m not going to say the phrase. But Fabrizio Romano (sigh) has now tweeted that full verbal agreement has been reached between Tottenham Hotspur and Inter Milan for the sale of Diop Tehuti Djed-Hotep Spence. The fee is reportedly £31.5m (£27m).
I
know a decent section of Spurs fans are either baffled or apoplectic about the low transfer fee for a player like Spence, but there are a couple of factors at play here. First, Tottenham fans tend to overrate their own players, which is natural. Spence is coming off of a fantastic World Cup and his stock is probably never going to be higher, but the reality is still that he’s a backup at both LB and RB at Spurs, and he wants regular first team football, something he’s not going to get this season. He also asked to leave the club, and Spurs are honoring his request, knowing that while they’re letting a good (but not world-class, whatever that means) player go, they feel they have adequate cover at both positions.
The other factor is financial — no matter how much we dislike it, there is a huge financial gap between the Premier League and every other European continental club, barring the juggernauts like Madrid, Barca, and Bayern. That’s just where the market is for a sale outside Premier League. We clearly made the choice not to sell Spence to a league rival and nobody on the continent can afford PL transfer fees, and as much as we might like him, he’s not a good enough caliber of player to command £40m+ on the continent. It is what it is.
In the end, this is a fantastic move for Djed. He leaves a club where he’s behind a World Cup winner and some established fullbacks and going to one of the most storied clubs in European football, one who made a Champions League final just a year ago. He’ll get regular minutes and will be appreciated in Milan. I’m not thrilled with the transfer fee, but considering the other factors at play here I find it difficult to get too upset about it, and will note that the same factors are at play with the sale to Cuti Romero. So long as money isn’t real in the Premier League and we decide not to potentially strengthen league rivals through player sales, this is just what we get.
I really, really like Djed Spence. He’s a real character, has become a good teammate (after a rocky start at the club), and is a solid professional footballer. He’ll be missed, for sure. That said, while you can disagree with Tottenham’s decision, I don’t think it’s one that’s a wild outlier, especially in the current market.
We’ll be back once the transfer is fully confirmed.
