Liverpool Eye Djed Spence Transfer Amid Defensive Concerns

Liverpool are weighing up a move for Tottenham’s Djed Spence, with the defender described as “extremely receptive” to the idea of swapping north London for Anfield – but Spurs are expected to demand at least £35m for the deal.

Two clubs, two very different summers. Tottenham have moved aggressively, six signings already through the door and more planned, particularly in the final third. Liverpool, by contrast, have added just two players, one of them – Jeremy Jacquet – effectively wrapped up months ago.

Yet the tension around Anfield is growing in a different area of the pitch.

Defensive alarm at Anfield

Andoni Iraola’s early weeks at Liverpool have exposed an uncomfortable truth: he is light at the back. Conor Bradley and Giovanni Leoni are not expected to be ready for the start of the new season, and Joe Gomez has already suffered a muscle injury in pre-season. For a coach who leans heavily on his full-backs, that is a problem that cannot be wished away.

Iraola has already asked FSG for defensive reinforcements, a request flagged in late July. The club’s recruitment team has been combing the market, and one name keeps resurfacing: Djed Spence.

Spence, 25, is the very profile Liverpool have tracked in recent windows – quick, aggressive, and capable of operating in multiple roles across the back line. AnfieldIndex had previously reported that Liverpool liked the Tottenham full-back. Now, according to Anfield Sector, the player would “jump at the chance” to join Iraola’s project.

The pressure to act is clear. Liverpool cannot afford to enter a gruelling season relying on patched-up solutions at right-back.

Spurs’ stance and the £35m question

Tottenham, for their part, are not standing still. While they hunt firepower in attack – with Savinho identified as the priority for the right wing and an additional left winger or striker also on the agenda – they are prepared to listen on certain departures to fund the next phase of Ange Postecoglou’s rebuild.

Cody Gakpo is among the forwards on Spurs’ radar, and Liverpool could be tempted to cash in if they land a direct replacement. But the more immediate crossover between the clubs lies in defence.

“Liverpool have an interest in Tottenham defender Djed Spence,” Anfield Sector posted on X, stressing that Spence is “extremely receptive” to a move. They also underlined Iraola’s “defensive concerns around the current right-backs” and made it clear that Spence is not the only name under consideration, even if the interest is real.

Their information was shared in tandem with X account @szyexcl, a source regarded as well-informed on Tottenham matters. At the same time, @szyexcl wrote that Liverpool “hold an interest” in Spence, that the player “would be very open” to a move if an offer arrives, and that Spurs would seek at least £35m.

That figure matters. It places Spence firmly in the bracket of a considered, strategic signing rather than a low-risk punt. Liverpool would have to be convinced he can solve their depth issues and fit Iraola’s demanding system.

Liverpool’s wider transfer puzzle

Spence is only one piece of a broader puzzle. While the defensive need grows more urgent, Liverpool are also pushing ahead with attacking plans. It is “full steam ahead” for Bradley Barcola, with the club exploring a move for the PSG winger while also checking on his teammate Ibrahim Mbaye.

Those pursuits do not lessen the need at right-back; they simply show the scale of the rebuild Iraola is trying to shape in one window.

For now, Liverpool’s interest in Spence is described as definite but not advanced. He sits on a shortlist, not a pedestal. Other options remain alive, and the club are wary of being drawn into a bidding war or overpaying for a player who has yet to fully establish himself at Spurs.

But one thing is clear: the door is wide open from the player’s side. If Liverpool choose to walk through it and meet Tottenham’s £35m-plus valuation, Spence’s next run down the right flank may come in front of the Kop rather than the South Stand.