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- Former Middlesbrough boss Neil Warnock previously questioned his dedication
- IAN LADYMAN: Premier League clubs are so wrapped up in their own self-interest. They want what suits them and that’s not FA Cup replays – It’s All Kicking Off
Tottenham will make Djed Spence available for transfer following his unexpected return from a loan spell at Leeds.
Mail Sport understands Spurs chiefs were taken by surprise on Thursday when they were informed that Leeds would be sending defender Spence back to north London with immediate affect.
Spence joined the Championship club in the summer on a season long loan deal, but the deal has been abruptly cut short by Leeds – a decision that arrived as a shock at Tottenham.
Doubts over Spence’s attitude have dogged the England Under-21 international’s career with Leeds boss Daniel Farke set to address the reasons why the Elland Road club decided to terminate the deal.
In November 2020, Neil Warnock, who managed Spence at Middlesbrough, said: ‘He could be playing at a top club in England or in non-league in five years, I don’t know,’ said Warnock.
Tottenham are open to offers for Djed Spence (left) after his loan deal was ended early at Leeds
Leeds boss Daniel Farke is set to address why the player was sent back to Tottenham after his deal was terminated
Neil Warnock was circumspect about Spence’s prospects when he managed the player on loan at Middlesbrough
‘Application, dedication, all these things come into it. He’s got the tools, there’s no doubt about that.’
Spence is due to report back for duty at Spurs on Saturday, but the club are almost certain to look for a new club for Spence this month.
Spence has made just five starts at Leeds but his spell has been hit by injury.
Speaking on Friday afternoon following Spence’s departure, Leeds boss Daniel Farke insisted the decision was made after an analysis of the first half of the season.
‘Obviously when you make decision in January, it’s not a short-term decision. It’s more like you’re thinking over situations even in the weeks and the month before,’ Farke said.
‘We wanted also to take the impressions of the festive period into account and then there was a time also to share the thoughts and to discuss the things.
‘We came to the conclusion that we will end the loan for Djed and he will return to Tottenham.
‘We are grateful for his time here. He’s a player of great potential and also a cool guy with a really good heart. But sometimes you need to take a decision and then you have to do this.’
Asked about Spence again later on, Farke spoke at length about ‘professionalism and discipline’.
He said: ‘Listen, in the summer we came here in order to create and to bring new values and to create a new culture within the club and when we speak about a player if he’s on here on a permanent or a loan deal, we have expectations and these expectations are in several topics important.
‘Obviously it’s important, the potential and the quality of the player but also it’s professionalism, it’s discipline, it’s workload on and off the pitch and also the soft skills, so also if he’s positive and committed, good for the group and engaged with these topics, paint then more or less a picture.
‘And we decided okay, this is the player we want in our group and want to represent Leeds United, our demands are very, very high and we don’t differ between loan players, permanent players so we are pretty picky in this topic.’
Similarly, Spurs are also open to offers for Sergio Reguilon, who returned from a loan spell from Manchester United this week.
