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David Seaman shares why Tottenham’s Djed Spence initially reminded him of Kolo Toure’s early Arsenal days
Tottenham Hotspur defender Djed Spence has gone from strength to strength this season after a tricky start to life at Spurs.
The Tottenham full-back went from being a near-certainty to be sold last summer to until the summer of 2028.
Djed Spence initially struggled to make an impact at N17 after joining in a £20million deal from Middlesbrough back in 2022.
Prior to this season, he had made just six appearances for Spurs and was sent out on loan three times while on the Lilywhites’ books.
However, Spence worked especially hard in pre-season ahead of the 2024/25 campaign and has forced his way into Ange Postecoglou’s plans.
Now, David Seaman has sung Spence’s praises as he shared why the Tottenham man initially reminded him of Kolo Toure’s early days at Arsenal.
READ MORE: Gary Lineker gives his theory over why Raheem Sterling is struggling so badly at Arsenal
David Seaman says Djed Spence has really improved at Tottenham
Seaman, speaking on the Seaman Says podcast, praised Spence for having become “better and better” at Tottenham.
The Highbury legend recalled how Toure “just followed the ball everywhere” in his early days at Arsenal but eventually became a star for Arsene Wenger’s side.
Seaman said Spence was often getting caught out of position, but he has since improved massively, also making the most of his “frightening” pace.
“He’s got better and better him,” said Seaman. “When I first saw him, when he first came in… he was a bit like when Kolo Toure came to Arsenal.
“He was like the the schoolboy in the playground, just followed the ball everywhere, and Djed was getting like caught out of position quite a bit, but now he’s like (much better).
“The more he’s playing in that position (left-back) he’s getting used to it, and his pace is frightening – he had a one-v-one with somebody and like totally outpaced them, easy.”
What Ange Postecoglou has said about Djed Spence
In January, Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou said Spence has “really knuckled down” and is making the most of the opportunities presented to him.
Postecoglou was also asked whether there was something lacking from Spence’s attitude or game that had held him back before.
“I don’t think there was something missing,” he replied. “There was possibly a reason he wasn’t settled but at the start of pre-season I mentioned there was an opportunity for him here.
“We were going to give him that opportunity and not necessarily get him out on loan. The rest was up to him and a lot of that is how he dealt with the fact he had to train hard everyday without a lot of prospect of playing.
“He impressed everyone with his attitude towards that. Maybe in the past he was a little bit impatient, maybe his attitude wasn’t great in terms of the fact he wasn’t playing and wasn’t feeling like a regular.
“This year he’s had to bide his time and he’s done that in the best possible way and waited for his opportunity, and now when he’s got it, he’s grown.
“Some of it is maturity as well. He’s not a young boy any more and probably feels like if he’s going to have a Tottenham career now is the time to grab that, and I think he has done that.”