Tottenham Hotspur make huge transfer u-turn on signing after just 12 months – with Ange Postecoglou showing ruthlessness: report

Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou press conference at Tottenham Hotspur Training Ground on July 10, 2023 in London, England.
(Image credit: Mark Leech/Offside/Offside via Getty Images)

Tottenham Hotspur are prepared to cut ties with a player they only signed 12 months ago, as Ange Postecoglou begins to wield a scythe over his bloated squad.

The Lilywhites agreed a £150 million cash injection last summer following Champions League qualification in a bid to close the gap on Manchester City and Liverpool at the top of the table, going on a huge spending spree. The likes of Richarlison, Ivan Perisic and Yves Bissouma all joined to bolster the depth of the side, though very few new buys had remarkable maiden seasons in north London.

With Tottenham now looking to offload deadwood ahead of the new season, several stars have been put up for sale – including one of the more exciting players to join 12 months ago. 

Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy on 22 May, 2022

Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy is in sell mode, following some disappointing seasons from last summer's new signings (Image credit: David Rogers/Getty Images)

According to the Evening Standard, right-back Djed Spence is to leave the club after just four appearances in the Premier League for Spurs.

Spence moved to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for around £20m as per The Guardian, following a fantastic promotion campaign at Nottingham Forest. There appeared to be a huge split between then-manager Antonio Conte and his employers, with the Italian admitting early on that he didn't actually want the England youth star. 

Why Harry Kane should stay at Tottenham Hotspur this summer

"Spence is an investment of the club," Conte said. "The club wanted to do it. I said, 'OK, this player is young but he showed he can become a good, important player for us'. The club decided to buy him."

After failing to break into the Tottenham side, 22-year-old went on loan to Rennes in Ligue 1, where he again struggled to make an impact. Spurs went on to sign Pedro Porro in the same transfer window and had to terminate Matt Doherty's contract to let him leave, given that they had too many players out on loan.

Djed Spence of Tottenham Hotspur applauds the fans after their sides defeat during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford on October 19, 2022 in Manchester, England.

Djed Spence's time at Tottenham has been forgettable (Image credit: Tottenham Hotspur FC/Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images)

Hugo Lloris, Tanguy Ndombele, Joe Rodon and Spence made up the quartet of transfer-listed stars to miss the recent preseason test against Shakhtar Donetsk, with Postecoglou said to favour other players in his squad. 

Spence is valued at €10m by Transfermarkt

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Alan Shearer has joked that he'll "drive Kane's f****** car there [Bayern Munich] myself" in order to protect his Premier League goalscoring record. Meanwhile, former striker Teddy Sheringham reckons that, "No Tottenham fan would begrudge him the opportunity to win trophies with another club".

Tottenham transfer news is also ramping up, with Ange Postecoglou now confirmed as manager. Roger Ibanez has been linked, as has Liverpool no.2 Caoimhin Kelleher and long-time target Paolo Dybala.

Mark White
Content Editor

Mark White is the Digital Content Editor at FourFourTwo. During his time on the brand, Mark has written three cover features on Mikel Arteta, Martin Odegaard and the Invincibles, and has written pieces on subjects ranging from Sir Bobby Robson’s time at Barcelona to the career of Robinho. An encyclopedia of football trivia and collector of shirts, he first joined the team back in 2020 as a staff writer.