‘£10 million too high’ – A look at Jonathan Woodgate’s £25 million Middlesbrough player claim: The verdict

So much so that former Middlesbrough defender Jonathan Woodgate has claimed that Boro could slap a £25 million price tag on the in-demand right back this Summer.

Here, we asked our FLW writers if they agreed with that valuation… 

No. 

There is a lot of bias clouding Woodgate’s judgment there as he was the man to give Spence his first senior opportunities at Middlesbrough. 

Spence enters the final year of his contract next season and therefore Boro are very unlikely to recoup that much money for his signature.

The likelihood is that Spence is sold to a Premier League club in the summer. 

With Isaiah Jones performing so well for them at the moment, Spence will be mainly viewed as an asset and with his mind elsewhere it looks like the best move for both parties.

I do not agree with that valuation, if Boro can get somewhere between £12-15 million for his services then they have conducted very good business in my view.

No. I can’t see anyone paying £25 million now just because of what a small sample size it would be based upon.

Spence has been hugely impressive while on loan at Nottingham Forest this season and looks a player with a really bright future but £25 million is £10 million too high, in my eyes.

Boro may well benefit from a bidding war of sorts if there are a number of different Premier League clubs interested but I’m not sure the defender has shown enough just yet to justify such a big transfer fee.

On top of that, he will be entering the final year of his contract and it seems as though the North East club would be open to a deal – judging from reports and the emergence of Isaiah Jones – so that will naturally bring the price down.

He’s an exciting player certainly but £25 million is too high of a valuation.

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