Tottenham Hotspur have negotiated a shockingly low fee for Djed Spence after he agreed to join Inter Milan.
That is the opinion of former senior Tottenham scout, Bryan King, speaking exclusively to Football Insider.
The 26-year-old has signed a long-term contract with the Italian giants, after a deal worth around £25.6million was agreed.
Spence was under contract for several more years, prompting many questions over why Tottenham have accepted such a minimal bid.
The full-back had a superb summer World Cup with England and was subject to plenty of interest in the Premier League and across Europe.
Everton, in particular, were potential suitors for the defender, but ultimately dropped out of the race.
We have reached agreement with Internazionale for the transfer of Djed Spence.
Thank you and best wishes for the future, Djed— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) August 15, 2026
Spurs expert suggests ‘clause’ in Djed Spence deal
Tottenham ultimately were keen to keep hold of Spence, with Roberto De Zerbi publicly admitting as much.
The full-back had hardly featured in his team at the end of last season, but proved his ability in the latter stages of the World Cup.
Inter has presented a good move for him – one that will probably present trophies and good money, as well as an ideal location.
But should Tottenham have been willing to sell to a club within the Premier League, they might have got as much as almost double the price.
“I can’t understand how you can bring in the kind of players that they brought in and let an established England international leave the football club for £25m,” King told Football Insider.
“Either he had a release clause in his contract or he’s been told that his future is not at the football club. That I can’t see. I don’t know the way these things work regarding the money situation.
“The PSR [profit and sustainability rules]. But to lose a player of that quality, and he is quality, I mean he can play anywhere.”
He continued: “I’m surprised an English Premier League club never went big for him, did you? Unless that was the clause in the contract, that he could go abroad for that kind of money. I don’t know.
“Well, that’s the only thing I could see. If he wanted to go, they’d allow him to go abroad. I mean, Inter aren’t a bad team, by the way.
“So, I just can’t understand that if they allowed him to go for £25m, how one of the top teams had come in for him, I would not know. It’s a very strange deal to me.”
How much should Spence have gone for?
In recent years, the likes of Tino Livramento, Matheus Nunes, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and several others have gone for big fees.
The latter is currently in talks to join Aston Villa for a fee in the region of £25m.
That is around the same fee Spence left for, but Wan-Bissaka is two years older, coming from a club in the Championship and and not an England international.
No matter how you slice it, Tottenham should and will be disappointed to have received such a minimal fee.
