Djed Spence has not been included in Tottenham’s 23-man squad for the Europa League group stages
Tottenham Hotspur submitted their UEFA Europa League squad for the group stages last week. The 23-man squad for the league phase of the Europa League required eight homegrown players in the roster, four of which needed to be players who have been groomed by the academy ranks.
Owing to last Wednesday’s deadline and to adhere to the strict guidelines on squad numbers, unlike the Premier League, the Lilywhites faced a challenge in picking their squad for the Europa League group stages.
The club were forced to announce a 23-man party, thus, resulting in the omission of two senior players. Djed Spence failed to make the cut, while Ange Postecoglou had to also leave out Sergio Reguilon from the squad for the Europa League group stages.
Football London correspondent Alasdair Gold has now issued a critical verdict on Ange Postecoglou and Spurs’ decision to omit Djed Spence from the European adventure which starts later this month. In a Q&A session with the Spurs fans, the respected journalist feels Spence is “really unfortunate” to miss out on a spot in the European squad and questioned Big Ange’s “very risky” decision to not include the full-back.
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“Spence has done really well this summer and impressed everyone inside the club, including Postecoglou. I think he’s just been really unfortunate in that the squad choice would suggest the Spurs boss does not trust his back-up goalkeeper options enough to leave out the experienced Fraser Forster. That means Spence was the odd man out,” Alasdair Gold wrote on Football London.
“It’s a very risky decision because it leaves the defensive cover very light for the group stages. Romero is suspended for the first game against Qarabag and an injury or two more and there’s going to be some problems. Spence was able to cover both right and left-back spots.
“How the 24-year-old will react is going to be interesting. He’s come on in two of the first three Premier League games and will likely play in the Carabao Cup, so he should still get game time. It’s just a massive shame because he would have played a lot in Europe.
“Overall it’s a big red flag against the squad management Spurs have overlooked in recent years with not a single outfield club-trained player in the first team now. They have made moves to change that but it’s been a problem they should have sorted a long time ago.”
Spence arrived at Spurs from Middlesbrough in 2022. After spending the last 18 months out on loan, the right-back impressed Big Ange and his coaching staff during the pre-season tour of Asia—as stated above by Gold. He has supposedly worked his way back into Postecoglou’s plans and should operate as a deputy to Pedro Porro after Emerson Royal’s sale to AC Milan in August.
Tottenham’s Europa League journey begins against Qarabag FK at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on September 26, and star defender Cristian Romero will miss the opener due to suspension. Spurs are already stretched in terms of numbers at the back, with Micky van de Ven missing the 2-1 defeat to Newcastle United away last time out and remains doubtful for the North London showdown after the international break.
Thus, it is indeed a baffling decision to not include Spence in the 23-man party, especially when he had impressed our gaffer and his coaching staff in the pre-season friendlies. He would have been a solid option to cover at both full-back positions, providing Porro and Destiny Udogie a breather to tackle the relentless schedule.
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The decision is a bitter pillow to swallow for the ex-England under-21 international, who would have hoped to get some regular minutes and perform at a high level after not being fancied at all by the previous managers.
