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Nottingham Post
Nottingham Post
Sport
Matt Smith

Djed Spence transfer admission made after Nottingham Forest win over Tottenham

Nottingham Forest have progressed through to the fourth round of the Carabao Cup after beating Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 on Wednesday evening.

Goals from Renan Lodi and Jesse Lingard sealed an impressive triumph for Steve Cooper's side at the City Ground.

For Lingard particularly, his first Forest strike had been long overdue and there was little surprise that the goal was greeted with exuberant celebrations from fans and players alike.

READ MORE: How the Reds rated against Spurs

READ MORE: Cooper sends Jesse Lingard message after impressive display

However, one fascinating sub-plot also emerged in the 65th minute when Antonio Conte replaced Matt Doherty with former Forest loanee Djed Spence.

Spence made 42 appearances for the Reds last season and developed a great relationship with supporters after playing a major part in achieving promotion to the Premier League.

Whilst he made little impact on proceedings, a potential return for the 22-year-old was discussed on the latest Garibaldi Red podcast.

Host Matt Davies was joined by Michael Temple and Mikey Clarke, and all three were in agreement that a January move for Spence, who has made just three Premier League appearances in North London, would be welcome.

You can read part of what the guys had to say below or listen to the full episode here.

MC: "I would one million per cent get him [Spence] back in.

"I thought he turned our season around with his dynamism, direct running, no-fear approach and with the fact we could then play a back-three and he would be up and down the pitch like a train all game.

"It's slightly different now. We're playing a different formation, we've got [Serge] Aurier, of course, and Neco [Williams] can play right-back but there's just something about Djed Spence, I, genuinely, think he's brilliant.

"I think he's probably the best-ever loan player I've seen at Forest, in terms of the impact he had on the team.

"If Spence walks through the door on January, 2nd I guarantee 99.9 per cent of Forest fans say 'he's back, great, we should have got him back in the first place'.

"The way he plays football is perfectly suited to a Steve Cooper team. He's young and energetic.

"You don't have to play him at right-back, you can play him in front of Aurier.

It's a squad game, we're not going to stay up with 11 or 15 players and Spence would add some significant quality and bring that feel-good factor back.

MT: "No one is going to get more out of Djed Spence than Steve Cooper.

"Cooper turned this almost anonymous loan signing into one of the most influential players in our promotion.

"You've got the challenge of how you accommodate him because I don't think he'll play in right midfield in front of a right-back but he's another option.

"He would reduce the minutes for Lodi, Williams and Aurier and you wouldn't say that the recruitment of a player in that position would be a priority.

"However, I think it would be a worthwhile punt on loan in January."

MD: "It probably won't happen but I too would have him back, even if he doesn't start every game straight away and comes off the bench.

"He can play different roles and maybe Aurier runs out of form, we don't know.

"It's not bringing someone in for the sake of it when you know exactly what you're getting from him and he knows the football club and knows the manager.

"This would be a constructive signing for me. Don't go mad in January, but three or four quality signings could make all the difference.

"And Spence would definitely be up there."

Would you bring Spence back to Forest in January? Have your say in the comments below

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