"I was told": Transfer expert now drops major £10m claim over "outstanding" Tottenham target

Transfer insider Dean Jones reckons that Djed Spence would cost Tottenham around £10m.

Right wing-back has been identified as a problematic position by Antonio Conte and his side have been tracking the Nottingham Forest youngster.

The 21-year-old was a regular for Middlesbrough last term, but former manager Neil Warnock allowed him to join Nottingham Forest on loan for the season.

Since making the switch to the City Ground, Spence has been in inspired form and has picked the FA Cup games against Arsenal and Leicester to produce two of his best performances.

He grabbed the man of the match award against the Gunners before scoring the crucial fourth in the Midlands derby win of Leicester, which led to former Foxes captain Wes Morgan describing him as “outstanding”.

Such was his display in the third round, Tottenham moved to sign him last month, with both Arsenal and Leeds also interested in his services.

Given the fact that Spence has already played for both Middlesbrough and Forest, he wouldn’t have been able to play for a third team in the same season had he joined, but Conte remains keen on strengthening his right wing-back options ahead of the 2022-2023 campaign.

He told GIVEMESPORT: “There’s going to be a lot of competition to sign him, but Middlesbrough are open to the idea of him leaving permanently.

“I think it’s £10m, I was told, that was the figure, which isn’t that bad for a Premier League club to be signing a player at that level.”

Emerson Royal gave Conte a timely-reminder why Spurs paid Barcelona £25.8m for him last summer against Brighton on Saturday, but none of Spurs’ right wing-backs have generally been consistent enough this season.

Matt Doherty doesn’t look up to the level, while it remains to be seen