Any trade for the talent would result in a significant return for the fan favourite.
Two years after promotion, Nottingham Forest’s team has experienced a massive transformation, with various acquisitions coming in to try to close the gap left by numerous Premier League sides.
The Reds’ play-off final victory over Huddersfield Town will be remembered for a long time, but it’s safe to say the squad looks very different a few years later.
Only academy graduates Joe Worrall and Ryan Yates remain under contract at the City Ground, as the rest of the squad is made up of loanees.
During the 2021/22 season, the club recruited exceptionally well, with loanees Keinan Davis, Philip Zinckernagel, and James Garner all playing important roles in Steve Cooper’s side, scoring 16 goals and registering 23 assists in total across all competitions.
Despite the trio’s successes in the East Midlands, none of them joined permanently, and all went on to have varying degrees of success away from the Reds.
One player from that season has failed to thrive since his brief tenure on Trentside, but given his time at Forest, the club would be foolish not to pursue a new contract with him.
Why Nottingham Forest should sign a former loan star this summer.
It may be a contentious move, but full-back Djed Spence has struggled to duplicate his form since joining Tottenham Hotspur for £20 million in the summer of 2022, appearing only six times for the club’s first squad.
He’s subsequently gone on loan to Rennes, Leeds United, and Genoa, looking a shell of his Forest self, with the former Middlesbrough prodigy clearly lacking confidence in recent years.
The transfer to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was supposed to propel the 23-year-old into Premier League stardom, but he’s struggled for minutes in North London.
With Ange Postecoglou’s side willing to invest in young talent, they will aim to offload a number of players to raise finances, with Spence likely to be one of them, according to Fabrizio Romano.
With Forest interested in a permanent deal in 2022, and Yates presumably backing a reunion last summer, a new approach should be taken this time around, with his talents greatly aiding current Forest standout Anthony Elanga.
Why Spence may bring Elanga to the next level.
Spence impressed during his interim spell with the Reds, pocketing Gabriel Martinelli during the 1-0 FA Cup third round win over Arsenal, with pundit Ian Wright noting at the time that he had “not seen a combative, technical, swashbuckling performance like that for a very long time.”
He was then labeled “world-class” by analyst EBL, a fitting description given his remarkable progress under Cooper during the club’s promotion-winning season.
He appeared 42 times for the Reds, scoring three goals and averaging 4.4 progressive carries per 90, which placed him in the top 6% of all defenders in the division in 2021/22.
Spence’s average of 1.9 successful take-ons aligns with Nuno Espírito Santo’s back-five system, which values players who can excel at both ends of the pitch.
| Spence’s stats during his Forest loan (2021/22) | |
|---|---|
| Statistics | Tally |
| Games | 42 |
| Goals | 3 |
| Progressive passes | 3 |
| Progressive carries | 4.4 |
| Successful take-ons | 1.9 |
| Passes | 47 |
| Touches (attacking penalty area) | 1.8 |
| Stats via FBref | |
His subsequent numbers would be extremely beneficial to Reds winger Elanga, who prefers to connect up with an overlapping full-back, as Neco Williams has done this season, with the former Manchester United player contributing 14 goals in a promising debut season at the City Ground.
The Swede likes to beat a guy, and his pace and strength might help him and Spence develop a dangerous partnership, like the full-back did with Brennan Johnson during the 2021/22 season, when the Wales international scored 28 goals and assisted on 28 occasions.
The combination of Spence and Johnson’s successor, Elanga, down the right wing might be terrifying for the Tricky Trees next season.
