Tottenham have rejected a bid from Brentford to sign Djed Spence on loan. football.london revealed on Wednesday that Spurs were open to letting the player leave on loan in the January transfer window, with the likes of Brentford and Leicester City interested in signing him.
However, Brentford have seen a loan bid knocked back by Spurs for one very clear reason - they do not want to sell him permanently.
The full-back has found opportunities hard to come by under head coach Antonio Conte since signing for Spurs from Middlesbrough in the summer. Spence came with a big reputation, having helped Nottingham Forest to promotion to the Premier League while on loan there last season.
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Forest wanted to sign him permanently, but Tottenham swooped in for the 22-year-old, completing a £12.5m deal that could eventually rise to £20million with Boro to sign the England U21 international right-back.
Spence was seen as a signing for the long-term, with Spurs already having Matt Doherty and Emerson Royal in the position. Conte even said that he was a "club signing" but that he had greenlit the move to bring him to north London.
Speaking to football.london during the club's tour of South Korea in pre-season, Conte said: "Spence is an investment of the club. The club wanted to do it. I said okay, this player is young but he showed he can become a good, important player for us. The club decided to buy him."
Those comments have shown in Conte's lack of trust of Spence, with the young right-back only featuring for 41 minutes during the 2022/23 campaign so far, with four substitute appearances in the Premier League, as well as one each in the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup.
Spurs are not willing to let the youngster leave permanently though, despite his lack of minutes under Conte this season and see him as a mainstay in their side for the future.
That is no more apparent than in their stance over a loan move to Brentford. Spurs want the player to get more game-time in an elite league, with Bayer Leverkusen and Lyon amongst the sides outside the Premier League to be keen on bringing him in.
Brentford made an offer to sign him on loan this month, but football.london understands the Bees' offer was with an obligation to sign Spence outright at the end of his loan deal - something Spurs are not willing to sanction.
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