All is not well at Tottenham Hotspur at present, with recent, tame exits in the FA Cup and Champions League having ensured that the wait to end the club's trophy drought is set to drag on, with the appointment of serial-winner Antonio Conte just under 18 months ago having failed to bear fruit.

A notable issue for the experienced Italian has been the lack of impact from his summer recruits, with £60m man Richarlison having failed to score a Premier League goal, while midfield maestro Yves Bissouma has been hampered by injury.

Veteran asset Ivan Perisic has also been branded a "liability" by writer Andrew Gaffney after being unable to truly make his mark at N17 to date, while fellow wing-back Djed Spence only featured sporadically in the first half of the campaign, before being shipped out on loan to Ligue 1 side, Stade Rennais, in January.

In the case of the latter man - who signed on a £20m deal from Middlesbrough back in July - there was seemingly confusion at the Englishman's inability to secure a regular role in the side under Conte, having been restricted to just four, cameo appearances in the Premier League prior to making the move to France.

Having been branded an "investment of the club" by the former Chelsea boss upon his arrival in north London, it was perhaps evident that Spence was not destined to be a regular fixture immediately in the side, despite having been hailed as "unbelievable" by pundit Ian Wright while on loan at Nottingham Forest last season.

The desire from supporters to see the 22-year-old take to the field had left Conte forced to justify his decision not to play the youngster, with the one-time Inter Milan head coach stating back in October that the defender was perhaps "not ready" to be involved.

The 53-year-old does appear to have been proven right in that regard with the London-born starlet currently struggling during his temporary spell at Rennes, having only recently drawn criticism from the French media following his underwhelming displays.

How is Spence getting on at Rennes?

It has been a rather grim start to life abroad for Spence as he has seemingly been unable to settle at his new club, having notably been criticised for his display in the goalless draw with Auxerre at the weekend, after being hooked at half-time in that stalemate.

While illness may have played a part in the full-back's woes, the 6 foot 1 dud failed to win a single duel and lost possession on six occasions from his 29 touches, with media outlet Maxi Foot harshly awarding him a 3/10 match rating, while also stating:

'Catastrophic evening for the right-back. Faced with high pressing, the Englishman was poor in his lane and gave away the ball for the huge opportunity for Hein. Regularly overwhelmed and replaced in the 46th minute.'

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'Catastrophic' was also used as the word to describe Spence's performance in the Europa League clash with Shakhtar Donetsk last month, as per the same publication, having also been awarded a measly 6.2 match rating by Sofascore for his errant display, notably losing possession on 15 occasions and winning just four of his 11 total duels.

Although it has not been a truly terrible loan spell thus far - with the Spurs man having starred against Nantes a few weeks ago after recording a 7.8 match rating, as per Sofascore - there are signs that Conte was right to be cautious with regard to throwing the player into the fray, with Spence appearing to be sinking rather than swimming at Roazhon Park.

If the England U21 international had been hoping to prove a point to his parent club by starring elsewhere, he hasn't managed to do so as yet.