Djed Spence impresses after making Rennes debut on loan from Tottenham

Djed Spence has earned rave reviews from supporters following his impressive debut for Rennes just days after joining the French outfit on loan from Tottenham Hotspur.

Spence moved to the Ligue 1 side on deadline day until the end of the season, with the wing-back having struggled to impress Antonio Conte this term and only been given limited minutes on the pitch under the Italian boss having signed for the north London club in the summer.

But he was thrown into the starting XI for Rennes on Saturday night in their 3-1 defeat by Lille. 

Spence has played just 43 minutes of action this season since joining Spurs last summer

The former Nottingham Forest and Middlesbrough star made an instant impact after less than five minutes – attacking the right flank and darting past a defender before his byline cut-back was unable to be turned in my team-mates.

Spence’s attacking performance continued to be a highlight for the home side, who took the lead in the first minute, as he fired narrowly wide after receiving the ball on the edge of the box in the first half.

The defender then made a second marauding run down the right flank, with his low ball into the box nearly forcing an own goal from a Lille defender.

After half-time, Rennes faded following a bright 45 minutes and Spence was unable to assert attacking influence, despite his confidence to try and bring the ball out of defence and into the midfield.

By the time he was given a standing ovation by Rennes fans following his substitution in the 84th minute, Lille had already equalised and they then took the lead just a minute after Spence’s departure before scoring again at the death.

Supporters though were quick to praise his performance for Rennes though, with one fan comparing him to former Spurs favourite Kyle Walker.

Djed Spence resembles Kyle Walker more than any other fullback that Spurs have signed since his departure’, they said. ‘Pure acceleration to beat his man, and equally at ease coming infield. No surprise he had plenty of interest in the January window.’

Another struggled to understand why Spurs had allowed the England Under 21 defender to leave temporarily in January , saying: ‘It blows my mind he’s on loan.’

One fan couldn’t understand how Spence had been limited to just 43 minutes of action for Spurs this season, saying: ‘How and why did we not give Djed Spence chances?’

Spurs have struggled to find a regular replacement at right back since selling Walker to Manchester City in 2017 but a fan claimed ‘Djed Spence is the one’ to finally replace the England international.

Another praised the attacking ability of Spence, which has been a weak area of Tottenham’s attack on the right this term where the more defensive minded players of Emerson Royal and Matt Doherty have been chosen ahead of him. 

‘He seems to have that extra burst going forward that we have been missing all season from our RWB. He has been impressive so far.’

Antonio Conte has seldom given Spence a chance to feature in the Spurs first-team