Roberto De Zerbi’s arrival at Tottenham Hotspur has already prompted significant changes, with Djed Spence departing for Inter for just £27m this summer.
The fee raised eyebrows given Spence is only 26 years old, a price many considered a bargain for a Premier League full-back in 2026.
Spence’s World Cup cameos for England against Mexico at the Azteca suggested a player capable of much more, briefly resembling the £100m talent many once projected him to become.
However, his club performances for Spurs told a different story, and De Zerbi’s arrival signalled that inconsistency at full-back would no longer be tolerated in North London.
The arrival of Andy Robertson alongside Pedro Porro further squeezed Spence out of the picture, leaving him without a realistic pathway to regular first-team football at the club.
Comparative Premier League statistics from the 2025/26 season highlight the issue clearly, with Robertson still outperforming Spence in key areas despite being 32 years old and considered past his peak.
Robertson created 1.54 chances per 90 minutes compared to Spence’s 0.44, and also won a higher percentage of his duels at 52.6 percent against Spence’s 47.6 percent.
With Spurs having already spent around £200m this summer, returning to the market for a specialist full-back is simply not a viable option for the club right now.
That makes Archie Gray the most logical internal solution, a versatile 20-year-old who demonstrated his quality in the position during his final season at Leeds United, nearly guiding them to promotion.
Como scout Ben Mattinson has already hailed Gray as a “future £100m” player, suggesting his ceiling is far higher than what Spurs supporters have seen so far.
De Zerbi’s tactical blueprint at Brighton offers a clear template, with Jack Hinshelwood playing right-back in a 4-2 win over Tottenham during the 2023/24 campaign and combining security in possession with intelligent forward passing.
Hinshelwood ended that particular match with a goal, three passes into the final third, and was not dispossessed once, demonstrating exactly the profile De Zerbi values in a wide defender.
Gray’s 2025/26 Premier League numbers already compare favourably, with a pass accuracy of 83.1 percent sitting close to Hinshelwood’s 84.4 percent, and his recovery numbers of 3.47 per 90 actually edging the Brighton man’s 3.41.
De Zerbi typically pairs a reliable, possession-based full-back alongside a more attack-minded option, a combination that would see Gray complement Porro’s dynamic overlapping style on the opposite flank.
If the new head coach truly intends to build from the back using a patient, ‘pausa’-driven approach, then Gray could be the most important beneficiary of Spence’s departure this season.