Tottenham Hotspur are not close to agreeing on a deal to sign Djed Spence, contrary to reports...
What's the word?
That's according to Daily Mail reporter Sami Mokbel, who delivered the claim to the 'Last Word On Spurs' podcast earlier this week.
"The views I was getting from Tottenham today is that [the Djed Spence] deal wasn’t close at all and there’s still quite a way from coming to an agreement," he revealed.
It comes after the Telegraph suggested that the north London outfit were 'poised' to sign the England U21 international in a £15m deal from Championship outfit Middlesbrough.
Conte will be fuming
It is also believed that manager Antonio Conte would like the arrival of Spence sorted by the weekend when Spurs are expected to fly out to South Korea to begin their pre-season preparations for the new Premier League campaign.
The Italian is therefore not likely to be happy to learn that the deal isn't close at all, especially as there are only a few days left until his squad depart the English capital for Heung-min Son's home country.
If the move is complete whilst everyone is in Asia, then it seems unlikely that the 21-year-old will be able to sort out everything required to link up with the team out there, only putting a setback in both Conte and the player's own plans.
Spence's arrival would go a long way in resolving one of the club's long-standing issues - that right wing-back spot.
Matt Doherty ended last campaign with a pretty serious injury, whilst reports have always hinted at Conte being unconvinced by Emerson Royal, who was signed by his predecessor Nuno Santo last summer.
Back in January, The Times claimed that the Italian head coach wanted to sign Adama Traore to solve the problem. He went on to join his boyhood club, FC Barcelona, on loan instead.
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The young defender, dubbed "combative" and "swashbuckling" by Arsenal legend Ian Wright, would be a decent fix to the issue, especially considering the fact that he made six goal contributions in 41 starts, which suggests he's a better threat than Emerson in the final third.
Therefore, Conte will surely be raging that a deal for Spence isn't actually as close as some have made it out to be, even more so heading into Saturday's departure to South Korea.
AND in other news, Spurs can seal "extraordinary" signing as Conte eyes swoop for Bonucci-like £45m titan...