Diop Tehuti Djed-Hotep Spence (born 9 August 2000) is an English professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Diop Tehuti Djed-Hotep Spence[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (2000-08-09) 9 August 2000 (age 22)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | London, England[3] | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Right-back | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Tottenham Hotspur | ||
| Number | 24 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2016–2018 | Fulham | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2018–2022 | Middlesbrough | 63 | (2) |
| 2021–2022 | → Nottingham Forest (loan) | 39 | (2) |
| 2022– | Tottenham Hotspur | 3 | (0) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2022– | England U21 | 4 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:51, 19 October 2022 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 10:48, 26 September 2022 (UTC) | |||
Spence is the younger brother of actress Karla-Simone Spence.[4] He was born in England to a Jamaican father and Kenyan Kikuyu mother.[5][6]
Spence signed for Middlesbrough on 1 July 2018, having previously been with Fulham's academy.[2][3] He made his debut for Middlesbrough in the EFL Cup on 14 August 2018, appearing as a substitute versus Notts County at the Riverside Stadium.[7] Spence made his league debut for Middlesbrough in a 1–0 win over Charlton Athletic on 7 December 2019, scoring his first league goal in a 1–0 win against Huddersfield Town on 26 December 2019.
On 11 January 2020 Spence won EFL Young Player of The Month, following his league debut, first goal and three clean sheets.[8]
On 1 September 2021, it was announced Spence would join Nottingham Forest on loan for the remainder of the season.[9] He scored his first goal for Forest in a 3-0 win over Birmingham City on 2 October.[10] Spence impressed in FA Cup victories over Premier League clubs Arsenal and Leicester City, scoring the fourth in a 4–1 victory over the latter.[11]
Spence was awarded the EFL Championship Player of the Month award for March 2022[12] as well as being nominated for the Goal of the Month award following his long range strike against Queens Park Rangers[13] which he was ultimately awarded.[14] Having also been nominated for the Championship Young Player of the Season, Spence made it a hat-trick of awards for March 2022 when he won the EFL Young Player of the Month award for the second time in his career.[15]
Spence played a vital role in Nottingham Forest's promotion winning side, and was featured in both the EFL Championship Team of the Season and the PFA Championship team of the season.[16][17]
On 19 July 2022, Tottenham Hotspur announced the signing of Spence on a five-year deal, for a reported fee of £20 million.[18][19] He made his Tottenham debut on 29 August, coming on as a late substitute in a 2-0 win against Nottingham Forest.[20]
In March 2022, Spence earned a first international call up to the England Under-21 squad for the upcoming Under-21 European Championship Qualifying matches against Andorra and Albania.[21] He made his debut as a substitute during a 3-0 victory away to the latter on 29 March 2022.[22]
Spence primarily plays as an right-back, and is known for his pace and dribbling ability.[23] He has been praised by the likes of Ian Wright, who described him as "combative, technical, swashbuckling", and Wes Morgan, who compared him to a Rolls-Royce.[24][25]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | EFL Cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Fulham U23 | 2017–18[26] | — | — | — | — | 1[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 1 | 0 | |||||
| Middlesbrough | 2018–19[27] | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2019–20[28] | Championship | 22 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 24 | 1 | |||
| 2020–21[29] | Championship | 38 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 40 | 1 | |||
| 2021–22[30] | Championship | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 4 | 0 | |||
| Total | 63 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 70 | 2 | ||||
| Middlesbrough U23 | 2018–19[27] | — | — | — | — | 3[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 3 | 0 | |||||
| Nottingham Forest (loan) | 2021–22[30] | Championship | 39 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 3[lower-alpha 2] | 0 | 46 | 3 | |
| Tottenham Hotspur | 2022–23[31] | Premier League | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | |
| Career total | 105 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 124 | 5 | ||
Nottingham Forest
Individual
Tottenham Hotspur F.C. – current squad | |
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Awards | |||||
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