Tottenham can learn from Djed Spence’s Neil Warnock spat amid transfer pursuit

Neil Warnock has already warned Tottenham over their potential signing of Djed Spence.

Reports claim Spurs are still pushing for a deal to sign the Middlesbrough starlet, who won plenty of admirers for his success last season.

Spence played a starring role in Nottingham Forest’s promotion during a loan spell, and that has led to interest from plenty of clubs this summer.

But reports now suggest Tottenham are the club with the most serious interest, pushing for a deal, with Boro reportedly wanting between £15million and £20million.

Stylistically, Spence to Tottenham makes all sorts of sense, with the 21-year-old an attacking full-back who should thrive as one of Antonio Conte’s wing-backs.

But it’s not just matters on the field that count, and that’s especially the case at Premier League and Champions League level.

What Spurs should be paying attention to is the questions over Spence’s character.

The full-back fell out with Warnock at Middlesbrough, leading to him being sent out on loan, but that was not the end of the feud.

Asked why he sent Spence away, Warnock said: “I let him go, he needed to sort himself out really.

“I basically said to him that you can go to the top or you can go non-league. I think Steve Cooper is the manager for him to be honest. He’s let him go forward more often which suits his game.

“There are not many players where you can say it’s all up to them personally how far they go – it’s what’s between the ears.

“He could be playing at a top club in England or in non-league in five years, I don’t know.

“Application, dedication, all these things come into it. He’s got the tools, there’s no doubt about that.”

In a separate interview, Warnock told the Northern Echo: “Me and Djed had had a few run-ins, and we weren’t really seeing eye to eye.

“There were a few things that had been going on in the background, and then suddenly you had Isaiah bursting onto the scene.

“If you remember, we actually played both of them in a couple of the early games of the season, but it quickly became obvious that it was going to be a straight choice of one or the other if we were going to be playing a system where one would be at right wing-back. My choice was to go with Isaiah (Jones).

“The question then was what was best for Djed? Was it best to leave him sulking on the bench because I wanted to give Isaiah a proper go? Or was it best to send him somewhere where he could play and enjoy himself a bit more?”

After those comments, and after Spence won promotion with Forest, the defender hit out at Warnock on a Twitter post.

“Oh, Where’s my Manners! Welcome to Twitter @warnockofficial,” he said, posing with a cigar in his mouth inside a Wembley Stadium dressing room following the play-off final.

Warnock replied in a tweet, saying: “Well done Djed , I did say you were premier league or non league, glad you listened and took my advice on board now go and enjoy your success.

“Those cigars won’t do you any good though son.”

The post itself should be particularly concerning for Tottenham, with Spence showing real immaturity to hit out when he should be celebrating success.

The swipe lacks class at a time when Spence’s success should have done all the talking.

It will also be a concern that Warnock hints at Spence ‘sulking’ behind the scenes amid a lack of game time.

That’s a part of his character that would surely be put to a big test at Tottenham, where he is likely to have to be patient over game time.

And while opinions of Warnock will certainly vary, the former boss has generally received high praise for his man-management.

Conte is a far less forgiving figure, and he has been known to fall out with players who don’t act the way he wants them to behind the scenes, with the Diego Costa case coming to mind.

Spence is only 21 years of age, so he will get plenty of chance to mature, and he could yet prove Warnock wrong.

But that confrontational Twitter post is not a good sign, and Tottenham may do well to question whether now is the right time as they prepare for a Champions League campaign.