Rennes' transfer chiefs have explained their move for Tottenham's Djed Spence on loan after tracking the player "for a while".
The 22-year-old completed his move to the Ligue 1 club on Tuesday as he seeks minutes after a season with only 41 to his name under Antonio Conte. A number of clubs were interested in a deal for Spence ahead of the transfer deadline, including Atletico Madrid and Italian outfit Sassuolo, but Spence opted for Rennes from a group of five clubs that submitted loan offers.
football.london understands that Spence's loan is a straight one without an option to buy as Spurs believe that he can still have a long-term future at the club. The player was not keen on leaving the club permanently either as he believes he can have a future in a Tottenham shirt.
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Given his struggles to play regularly for Spurs this campaign, game time should come his way in France with injuries in Rennes' right-back area, including captain Hamari Traore who is set for a spell out. Spence's debut could come in the next few days as Rennes host Strasbourg on Wednesday evening, before Lille travel to Roazhon Park three days later.
Explaining the deal, Rennes' executive chairman and general manager Olivier Cloarec said: "After the injury of Lorenz Assignon and that of Hamari Traore at the start of the week, additional bad news, we had a need for this position.
"We had very good feedback and we are very happy that he chose Stade Rennais because he had possibilities in other European clubs. We were able to pull out of the game and we had to be very reactive. The recruitment cell works all year round and this is not a last minute discovery. He is a player that we have been following for a while."
Florian Maurice, Rennes' technical director added: "Following the injuries to Lorenz Assignon and Hamari Traoré, we had to react very quickly. It's an interesting player profile.
"He is a committed, fast player who is able to defend well and also attack well. He moved up to the Premier League with Nottingham Forest last season.
"He played little with Tottenham but he's still a player with great potential. In a few hours, you had to be reactive to find the right option and I hope he will quickly blend into the group in order to show us his qualities."
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