Djed Spence did not always have the best of times at Middlesbrough, he has failed to make an impact at Tottenham Hotspur and could not do much of note at Leeds United, but he was a big success at Nottingham Forest.
Spence is on loan at Genoa from Tottenham Hotspur at the moment. The right-back moved to the Italian club in the January transfer window. The Serie A outfit have the option to make the deal permanent in the summer of 2023.
Djed Spence was on loan at Leeds United for the first half of the season. The right-back was expected to stay at Elland Road until the end of the campaign, but the Championship club exercised a break clause and sent him back to Spurs.
The youngster has now admitted that his best spell in his career so far has been at Nottingham Forest. The former England Under-21 international has noted how then Forest manager Steve Cooper got the best out of him.
The defender has also given his verdict on Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis’s decision to sack Cooper as the manager in December and replace him with former Tottenham Hotspur and Wolverhampton Wanderers manager Nuno.
It was a big decision to sack Cooper in the middle of the campaign, especially as he kept Forest in the Premier League last season.
When Cooper was sacked, Forest were 17th in the Premier League table, five points ahead of Luton Town, who were third from bottom and had a game in hand.
Forest are 17th in the league table now. They are four points ahead of Luton, who are 18th and have a game in hand.
Djed Spence on Nottingham Forest
Spence told The Athletic: “Steve Cooper’s a good person, he understands people. He’s a great coach, he understood me as a player and as a person, that was very important.
He worked for England youth, he had that experience of younger players and people coming from different backgrounds and knowing how to deal with certain players — that played a big part in it. He just let me be me.
“With Cooper, he’ll make you feel confident, he’ll ask you questions, he’ll speak to you like a normal human; that plays a big part in football. We don’t just go to work and press a button and we just function and play. We’re human, we like interaction, we like to speak.”
The right-back added about his time at Forest: “It was me at my best, it was me enjoying football and loving the game. It was one the best moments of my career, it was a really good time.”
When asked if Forest’s decision to sack Cooper in December surprised him, Spence said: “No. These things happen in football. No one is exempt from being fired, it’s football. He did a great job with us getting to the Premier League, he did some fantastic things for the club.”
Djed Spence was a star at Nottingham Forest
Djed Spence was one of the best players for Nottingham Forest during the 2021-22 season. He was on loan from Middlesbrough, and he was key to the Reds winning promotion from the Championship to the Premier League.
Spence made 41 starts and one substitute appearance in the Championship for Forest that season. He scored two goals and gave four assists in those games.
You wonder what would have happened had Forest, Middlesbrough and Spence made that loan deal permanent in the summer of 2022.
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