Antonio Conte's Djed Spence decision and the reality…

Antonio Conte's Djed Spence decision and the reality facing Tottenham signing after Chelsea woe

Antonio Conte surprised a number of Tottenham fans with his squad selection at Chelsea on Sunday. There was no shock in terms of his Spurs starting XI, however, as that picked itself after the 4-1 win over Southampton, but the eye-opener came on the bench with new signing Djed Spence missing out on selection completely.

Named as part of the 20-man squad a week earlier at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, there was no place for the 22-year-old this time following Richarlison's return from suspension. The right wing-back was there, though, as he and Pape Matar Sarr had travelled with the rest of the squad to west London for the game just in case of illness or injury hitting one of the selected 20 players ahead of kick-off.

Both sat behind the dugout for the entertaining 2-2 draw, along with Brandon Austin who was not selected and Clement Lenglet who missed out through injury. Spence's omission was a talking point amongst fans, especially as he has just arrived at the club and many see him as the long-term option at right wing-back.

However, it was perhaps no surprise that he was the unfortunate man to miss out simply due to his lack of Premier League action and the amount of options Conte currently has in the position at present. Had Spence made the 20-man squad then the Lilywhites would have four right wing-back options to choose from if you include Lucas Moura following his cameos in the position in pre-season.

Going into a game of such magnitude, it was no surprise to see Matt Doherty selected as the backup wing-back due to his top-flight experience and the fact Conte clearly trusts him. Spence's inexperience may have counted against him on this occasion but his time will most certainly come.

It also would not have made sense to have an overload of right wing-backs to choose from, mainly due to how the game actually panned out and the need to bring on attackers to try and swing the game in Tottenham's favour. Richarlison and Lucas were introduced after the break, with Bryan Gil, selected as the third attacking option, there if required on Sunday afternoon.

Conte and Fabio Paratici's summer transfer business means dropping a player or two is going to be very much the case more often than not over the course of the season until injury or suspension impacts the head coach's plans. The introduction of having nine substitutes to choose from on the bench does give Conte plenty of flexibility when it comes to picking his squad.

However, it may only be one or potentially two wing-backs named as part of the nine depending on if a manager wants an extra attacker, as they do tend to opt for two centre-backs, two midfielders and either two or three attackers. Whereas for some clubs it may always be near enough the same nine players selected due to a lack of options, Tottenham's new strength in depth and rather hectic fixture schedule means that will not be the case in 2022/23.

Tottenham's calendar starts to ramp up from the final week of August and there is no let up until the Premier League pauses for the World Cup in the middle of November. The next few months is when we will see the benefit of having a big squad and plenty of quality options to choose from, thus meaning Spence's chance in the squad and the first team is going to come his way.

Right now the player has to get up to speed with Conte's ways and leave the boss with no choice but to select him in the starting team for the very first time in the Premier League. Now with three days to catch his eye ahead of Saturday's game against Wolves, all being well Tottenham fans will see their new signing in the matchday squad once again.

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