Djed Spence had a notoriously torrid time working with Antonio Conte at Tottenham Hotspur.
Signing for Tottenham in 2022 after emerging as a breakout star for Nottingham Forest, the Englishman seemed like the perfect fit for Conte due to being a high-flying wing-back at the time.
But Antonio Conte did not fancy Spence from day one. So much so that the Italian went out of his way to admit that the 24-year-old was not his signing.
Conte said via BBC Sport: “Spence is an investment of the club. The club wanted to do it. I said OK, this player is young but he showed he can become a good, important player for us. The club decided to buy him.”
Cut to the presence and Tottenham feel Spence can become a top full-back behind the scenes. While Djed Spence has proven his quality this season, it seemed like his time at Spurs was doomed from the day Antonio Conte got his hands on him.
Djed Spence says Antonio Conte “shattered” his confidence at Tottenham
Rio Ferdinand pinpointed Spence’s brimming confidence after interviewing him while speaking to Joleon Lescott.
The former Nottingham Forest defender has every reason to be self-assured due to the season he is having, with Dejan Kulusevski backing Spence to succeed as well.
But under Antonio Conte, Spence has revealed that the Napoli boss “wasn’t happy about anything” regarding him when opening up on his struggles working alongside the former Tottenham manager.
The in-form full-back said on Rio Ferdinand: Presents: “Oh, yeah, most definitely. I felt like whatever I did, I couldn’t…that man wasn’t happy about anything, man. Honestly, yeah.”
“Even if you do the right things, ‘Did I do the right thing?’ because he’s not a really complimenting guy. I think it gets to a point where you don’t even need validation from a coach, you know if you’re doing well or not in your head. Of course, it’s nice to know that a manager…’Oh, you’ve done well today or you’re doing well’ but I think you get to a certain time where you know if you’re doing well or not. It’s just down to the manager if he wants to see it or not.”
Djed Spence admitted his confidence nosedived after being managed by Antonio Conte: “It wasn’t a nice feeling, of course. Especially, I was coming to the club on a high [from Nottingham Forest], I was confident, I was buzzing, I had a great season, just won promotion from my club and when I came in, I just ran into a brick wall really and yeah, I think, it shattered my confidence as well really, obviously, I’m young as well so it’s not nice to hear.”
“My agent at the time, he was saying to me, ‘No, don’t worry about this, we’ve clarified’…yeah, I know I was rubbish at the time but yeah, it wasn’t a nice thing really. I was even going into the club like, ‘What am I doing really?, you know what I mean?”
How much did Djed Spence play under Antonio Conte?
It is understandably why Spence struggled as much as did under Antonio Conte as the Premier League winner did not fancy him one bit.
The versatile defender rarely played and in January, he went to Rennes on loan after signing for Spurs.
In all competitions, Spence played just 43 minutes of football under Antonio Conte at Tottenham.
| COMPETITION | MINUTES PLAYED |
| PREMIER LEAGUE | 5 |
| FA CUP | 13 |
| CARABAO CUP | 25 |
| TOTAL | 43 |
Naturally, he did not enjoy the experience but now, James Maddison stated Spence has been brilliant for Tottenham this season as he is one of their most important players.
