Antonio Conte is poised to finally land £20million Middlesbrough star Djed Spence after selling Steven Bergwijn to Ajax for £26m.
The Tottenham boss wants right wing-back Spence to be part of his pre-season tour of Korea as the North Londoners continue their rebuild for the new season. Spence, 21, is valued at between £15m and £20m.
Middlesbrough have driven a hard bargain for the rising star, who impressed on loan at Nottingham Forest last season, helping them secure promotion to the Premier League. He made 46 appearances in all competitions and he was named in the Championship team of the season.
Spurs leave London for their pre-season tour of South Korea on Saturday, with a squad of up to 30 players travelling to Seoul. New signings Ivan Perisic, Fraser Forster, Yves Bissouma and Richarlison are expected to be in that squad.
Barcelona defender Clement Lenglet has completed his season-long loan move to north London but he is not expected to be granted a visa in time to join the squad for the start of the tour.
Bergwijn has signed a five-year contract with Dutch champions Ajax. Spurs had been keen to get as close to their money back as possible for a player they bought from PSV in January 2020.
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Meanwhile, speaking last month, Middlesbrough manager Chris Wilder confirmed Spence's desire to play in the Premier League next season. "Well we want the going rate," he told BBC Radio Tees. "The negotiators, with my input, we’ve set a price and a fair price.
"We don’t want to hold anybody back. Djed has made it clear that he wants to go play in the Premier League, he’s earned that opportunity which he has done. You cannot get away from the fact that he’s had an incredible season and with that comes interest but it has to be at that right price.
"If that happens then I’m sure we’ll all walk away happy with the deal. We’ve got good players underneath, as we’ve talked about in terms of Izzy Jones and his progression last season.
"We’ve got a player who has had a fabulous season and got his rewards for that in terms of a big move and we’ve got the going rate for the England U21 top right wing-back of English descent."
Ajax confirmed the signing of Bergwijn on Friday. "It is indicative of Steven's ambition that he chose to make the step to Ajax," said new Ajax manager Alfred Schreuder. "He is a player with many qualities. He has enormous drive and is also very goal-oriented.
"Of course, I am happy that we were able to sign him, he adds new quality to our team."
