View: Ange could hand Tottenham outcast second chance after what he did v Hearts last night

Djed Spence might have earned himself a fresh opportunity at Tottenham after his performance against Hearts on Wednesday (17 July).

Spurs got their pre-season preparations kicked off in emphatic style with a 5-1 victory over Hearts.

It was a positive performance and Ange Postecoglou will have plenty to reflect on during the trip back to London from Edinburgh.

Dejan Kulusevski, James Maddison and Brennan Johnson linked up to open the scoring during the first half, but it was the second-half display which will have left Postecoglou with some thinking to do.

All three of those players are regular first-team players in North London. However, during the second period, several fringe players stepped up to the plate as they look to revitalise their careers with the club.

One of those players was Spence, with the defender making quite the impression after being introduced at half-time.

Djed Spence to revive his Tottenham career under Ange Postecoglou?

Spence spent the first half of last season out on loan with Leeds United, before being sent to Italy and Genoa in January.

In truth, the right-back has never been handed much of an opportunity since arriving from Middlesbrough as part of a £20million deal (via Sky Sports News, 19 July 2022).

He has played just six matches for Tottenham, spending some time on loan in France with Stade Rennais during the second half of the 2022/23 season, before his two loan moves throughout the 2023/24 campaign.

As a result, it would be fair to suggest that his future is somewhat up in the air. However, if his performance against Hearts is anything to go by, the 23-year-old still has something to offer Postecoglou and Spurs.

During the second half, he grabbed himself both a goal and an assist, while completing 94 per cent of his passes, with two of those key (Sofascore).

And the nature of both his goal and assist demonstrate that he might be able to slot in seamlessly to Postecogloy’s style of play.

Djed Spence shines as an inverted right-back for Tottenham v Hearts

It is no secret by now that Postecoglou likes his full-backs to invert.

In the above image, Spence can be seen playing that role perfectly. He picks up the ball in midfield and finds space to drive forward.

He reaches the edge of the penalty area, where he spots the clever run of Will Lankshear and plays the striker in, who then goes on to finish expertly.

As for his goal, Spence finds some space in the box as Timo Werner looks to cross from the left.

Werner fizzes the ball into the penalty area, and Spence makes a run across the face of the goal and diverts the ball into the back of the net.

It was a positive performance and most importantly an example to Postecoglou that the Englishman can play as an inverted right-back, perhaps at least as an understudy to Pedro Porro.

While he no doubt likely still has work to do to convince the Australian that he should be a part of his plans next season, Spence has at least earned the opportunity to keep impressing during pre-season.

In other Tottenham news, the club have agreed on a brand-new sponsorship deal with a “huge” boost on the cards.

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