Djed Spence has turned a strong summer into a proper career moment. He is set for his first World Cup, has picked up England recognition and is already attracting Juventus interest, while Tottenham are reportedly holding firm on a €40 million valuation. Eric Dier, who stayed in touch with him at club level, has told him to enjoy it.
Why Spence’s rise now feels like a real step forward
Dier’s message was simple. “Just to enjoy it - I've already told him to! We were together at the club for a while and we stay in touch. I spoke to him a couple of days ago,” he said in an interview with Tottenham.
He was more expansive when talking about what the tournament could mean. “It will be one of the best experiences he's going to have in his career and, hopefully, he'll have more. I think Djed has fantastic individual characteristics, some of them physical, some of them technical and some of them mental.”
That view has some backing in the numbers. Spence averaged 6.5 across his last five Premier League matches for Tottenham and played 266 minutes in that spell, so this is not a case of a player drifting in and out of the picture. Tottenham’s last five Premier League results with Spence in the side were WLDWW.
The transfer side is still only interest, not a done deal. Juventus have identified Spence as a potential target if Andrea Cambiaso leaves this summer, but there is no agreement on a fee and no bid has been reported here. The €40 million figure attached to Tottenham’s stance is one valuation, not a finished transfer story.
Argentina’s late change adds another Tottenham-linked twist
The other half of the summer story is Marcos Senesi, whose call-up underlines how quickly squads can change late in the cycle. He was officially drafted into Argentina's final 26-man World Cup squad as a late replacement for the injured Leonardo Balerdi, who suffered a muscle injury in the soleus of his right leg.
Senesi has only three international caps and was originally debuted against Estonia back in 2022. That is a slim international résumé, but the timing of the call-up tells its own story, especially after a season in which he averaged 7.72 across his last five Premier League matches for Bournemouth and played 471 minutes in that same stretch. Bournemouth finished 6th, on 56 points and with 53 goals against.
Dier also backed Spence to handle the next stage at Spurs, saying: “I'm excited to see him with the new manager at Spurs next season. I think he has fantastic attributes. He just needs to keep working hard and stay calm. He has fantastic abilities and I like him, too. I feel like he had a tough time, you know, for a while and he showed real resilience to get through that.”
For Spence, the immediate focus is the tournament and a first World Cup debut against Croatia in Dallas. For Tottenham, the summer is already about valuation and interest, and Juventus are in the frame if Cambiaso moves on.
Compiled by the ClutchBrief Desk with AI assistance, cross-checked against 2 outlets. How we work →