Tottenham target Djed Spence is not part of Middlesbrough's squad for their pre-season trip to Portugal ahead of the new Championship season. Excelling on loan for Nottingham Forest last campaign, Fabio Paratici is keen to bring the player to Spurs but the clubs have been unable to agree on a fee for the England U21 international so far.
Many expected Tottenham to have concluded a deal for the player ahead of their pre-season tour of South Korea, which the players departed for on Saturday evening. Tottenham have been incredibly busy in the transfer market so far this summer after signing five new players, with a new right wing-back remaining high on their priority list.
Returning to Middlesbrough's training base for pre-season training a fortnight ago, Spence wasn't involved for the Championship side on Friday evening when they beat National League outfit York City in a friendly. Heading off to Portugal 24 hours later for some warm-weather training, it wasn't known if the right wing-back would be part of the travelling party to the Algarve.
READ MORE: Brutal Conte training has Tottenham players collapsing but Troy Parrott explains why he didn't
TeesideLive have since confirmed the 25 Middlesbrough players who have travelled to Portugal for the training camp, with Spence absent entirely for the trip. The player will instead have to work at their Rockliffe Park traIning base over the next week while his teammates remain in Portugal until Saturday.
Speaking after their pre-season friendly win over York on Friday, Wilder issued an update on the transfer saga involving Spence.
“I’ve got to say, I’ve taken myself away from it. It’s not my job now, it’s gone beyond me and it’s not up to me to do the negotiating and agree a deal. That’s with the club and the owner and the chief executive," said the Boro boss, as reported by TeesideLive.
"We all understand the position and as I’ve said before, if it doesn’t go through, then he’s still under contract and he’s our player.”
READ NEXT:
- What happened when Richarlison met Cristian Romero for the first time as a Tottenham player
- Tottenham news and transfers LIVE: All the latest updates and rumours from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
- Full Tottenham Premier League fixture list for 2022/23
Tottenham confirm South Korea pre-season tour squad as six first-team players left out
- Richarlison transfer proves Antonio Conte's voice has been heard loud and clear at Tottenham
