Middlesbrough and Tottenham Hotspur are locked in negotiations over the sale of right-back Djed Spence, with an update having emerged from Sky Sports journalist Lyall Thomas.
Middlesbrough are prepared to sell Spence if their asking price is met, with the Championship club holding out for £15 million plus add-ons.
However, Tottenham Hotspur believe the player is worth £10 million and so the two clubs are still £5 million apart in terms of their valuations.
The 21-year-old broke into the Boro team back in 2018 as a teenager and went on to make 70 appearances for the Teessiders in all competitions, scoring two goals.
But it was a loan spell to Nottingham Forest last season that really caught the attention of a whole host of Premier League clubs.
Tottenham Hotspur are now leading the chase, but had to compete with the likes of Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Arsenal, and former loan club Nottingham Forest.
It looked as though a move to North London was progressing well, but Thomas’ comments suggest the deal may take longer to get over the line that initially thought.
“That conversation, from Spurs’ point of view, was ‘this is where we value Spence, what is your valuation?’ Tottenham’s valuation was around £10m with a little bit of add-ons, while Middlesbrough’s was around £15m with extras,” he said.
“How many extras remains to be seen and that is another aspect that is potentially complicating things. £15m seems like a fair initial fee, but it’s about how much Middlesbrough want in extras.”
The add-ons could be in relation to appearances, goals, league position or progression in the Champions League amongst other things, although nothing has been confirmed as of yet.
At Tottenham Hotspur, Emerson Royal looks to be on his way out of the club, as he nears a move to Atletico Madrid, therefore freeing up a space at right wing-back for Spence to fill.
They do still have Matt Doherty in their ranks and so the young Boro man would be competing with the Republic of Ireland international should he seal the switch in the coming months.
