Tottenham Hotspur are unlikely to sign a new right-back this summer, despite sanctioning Djed Spence’s move to Inter Milan, according to club insider SpursJourno.
Spence is on the verge of a €35 million transfer to Inter, bringing his four-year spell with Spurs to an end. While the North Londoners have identified targets across Europe, Tottenham’s decision-makers have deemed right-back recruitment a lower priority this window.
Instead, Spurs will place full trust in Archie Gray to provide cover for Pedro Porro next season.
Gray, who joined Tottenham in a €41.3m deal from Leeds United in 2024, has shown impressive versatility. Although primarily a central midfielder, the ‘incredible’ 20-year-old played some games at right-back during his breakthrough at Leeds and demonstrated defensive maturity when used at full-back in his first season in North London.
De Zerbi’s tactical setup requires full-backs to step into central midfield during build-up phases—a role that suits Gray’s technical quality and passing range.
In addition to Gray, Tottenham have further internal options. Academy graduate Tye Hall has featured regularly in pre-season and impressed, while also naturally being a midfielder like Gray.
By opting not to sign a direct replacement for Spence, Tottenham intend to preserve funds for key attacking targets before the deadline—most notably their ongoing pursuits of Liverpool’s Cody Gakpo and Manchester City’s Savinho.
After winning their first four pre-season fixtures, De Zerbi’s side were held to a 1-1 draw by Getafe last Saturday. They will look to return to winning ways in their final friendly against Hoffenheim later today, one week before they open their 2026-27 Premier League campaign against Brentford.