Inter Milan Completes £30m Signing of Djed Spence from Spurs

Inter Milan have agreed a £30m deal to sign England defender Djed Spence from Tottenham, closing in on a move that suits all three parties but still leaves a twinge of frustration in north London.

The agreement, understood to include a 10 per cent sell-on clause, allows the 24-year-old full-back to complete his switch after being given permission to travel to Italy for a medical while talks were ongoing. Those talks are now done: the total package is in place, the path to Serie A clear.

Spence heads to Milan on the back of a standout summer. He was one of England’s brightest performers in their run to third place at the World Cup, a tournament that reminded everyone why Spurs moved for him in the first place. Yet the picture at Tottenham has shifted.

Ange Postecoglou already has Pedro Porro locked in as first-choice right-back. On the left, Destiny Udogie, Andy Robertson, Souza and Ben Davies can all operate comfortably. In that crowded full-back department, Spence’s minutes always looked at risk of shrinking rather than growing.

Inter, by contrast, have been hunting for a new right wing-back and had initially pushed for Al Ittihad’s Moussa Diaby. When that pursuit stalled, their focus snapped to Spence, whose profile fits the role and whose appetite for Italy had already been whetted.

He spent the second half of last season on loan at Genoa from January 2024, a six-month spell he enjoyed and one that helped convince him to commit to a longer stay in Serie A. With three years left on his Spurs contract and an option for a further year, Tottenham were under no pressure to sell, but the player is keen on the move and the offer proved too strong to ignore.

Spurs originally signed Spence from Middlesbrough in July 2022 in a deal worth up to £20m. Sky Sports News’ Mark McAdam summed up the mixed feelings among the fanbase: a player whose “brilliance in flashes” they’ve seen, whose World Cup performances underlined his potential, now leaving before ever truly owning a starting spot.

Tottenham paid £12.5m of that potential £20m package to bring him in and will now bank more than double that initial outlay. Financially, it’s sharp business. Emotionally, some supporters will still feel they are losing a player who could have become central to the project.

The club, though, have not been caught cold. Spurs have been preparing for this scenario and already have “irons in the fire” for a replacement, with recruitment plans active as they reshape their full-back options again.

Inter get their wing-back. Spence gets the stage he craves. Tottenham get a profit and a gap to fill. The next question is simple: who walks through the door at Hotspur Way to take his place?