Stewart Downing has given his verdict on Djed Spence’s rise to prominence amid speculation linking him with a move to Tottenham Hotspur.

The winger played alongside Spence during his breakout into the Middlesbrough team under Jonathan Woodgate during the 2019-20 Championship campaign.

His first appearances came with the club under Tony Pulis the year before, but it was the former defender who saw the potential in the full back.

Downing claims that he saw the talent early as well as he played against him in training when Spence first came through as part of the U23 side.

The 37-year old praised his technical qualities and compared his style of play to Trent Alexander Arnold.

The former Boro player believes he makes sense as a Spurs signing and that it would be quite an exciting move for the 21-year old. 

“He always had the ability,” said Downing, via iNews. 

“When he came in at Middlesbrough he started to train with us a little bit from the U23s to the first-team. 

“I was up against him quite a lot because I played on the left and he was at right-back and the first thing that stood out was that he was an athlete, he could get up and down, but he was also comfortable with the ball.

“He’s more of an attacking full-back than a defensive one. Like a Trent Alexander-Arnold type. So I can see why he has been linked to teams like Tottenham.

“Woodgate was the assistant manager [under Pulis] and I think he quite liked him.

“Woodgate getting the manager’s job gave him a chance really because he probably would have struggled to get in at that time.”

Spence played 60 league games across two league seasons for Boro before going out on loan with Nottingham Forest last campaign.

The defender performed extremely well for Steve Cooper’s side, which is what has caught the attention of the likes of Spurs.

A deal between the two clubs has yet to be made official, with a price tag of £15 million being placed on Spence’s future.

The Verdict

Spence has continued to develop very impressively year on year so it comes as no surprise that there is such transfer interest this summer.

Downing has a keen insight into the player having matched up against him in training from such a young age in the starlet’s career.

That means he has seen first hand the progress that Spence has made and can give a unique analysis of his style of play.

He will be a fun fit with Spurs should the deal go through, particularly given Antonio Conte’s ability to extract the maximum from his wing back options.