Antonio Conte’s patented 3-4-3 system is a joy to watch when it is being played at it’s full potential, but sadly, the Italian’s tactics can be overly reliant on two players in the system – the wing-backs.
Indeed, as we’ve seen time and time again, Conte needs good wing-bacs marshalling the wide areas if his teams are going to be successful, and unfortunately, at Tottenham, he’s not had that.
Down the left, Ryan Sessegnon and Sergio Reguilon have been jostling for position ever since Conte arrived, while down the right, Matt Doherty and Emerson Royal have, quite simply, lacked the necessary quality.
It’s no surprise to see Spurs targeting players in those positions this summer, Ivan Perisic has already arrived to plug the gap down the left, while it looks for all the world that Djed Spence will join down the right.
So, would Spence be a good fit for Conte’s system if he arrived at Spurs? Well, perhaps the best way to judge the Middlesbrough man would be to compare his statistical profile to arguably the most successful Conte wing-back of modern times, Achraf Hakimi.
Hakimi played just one season under the Italian at Inter, but he was an absolute revelation during that period, and, somewhat encouragingly, Spence’s stats compare well to Hakimi’s that season, using WhoScored’s player comparison tool.
Off the bat, it’s clear to see that Hakimi is the greater attacking force, he has more goals and more assists. However, you’re bound to assist more when you’re providing for a red-hot Romelu Lukaku compared to the likes of Lewis Grabban, Sam Surridge and Keinan Davis – with all due respect.
While Hakimi may assist more than Spence, the underlying stats tell something of a different story when it comes to attacking output.
Indeed, Spence averaged 1.9 dribbles per game last term compared to Hakimi’s 0.9 in 2020/21, while they were both dead level when it came to key passes per game, averaging one a piece.
If Spence were to work alongside a more talented attacker – say someone like Harry Kane, there’s no reason why his assist numbers couldn’t hit Hakimi’s level.
Of course, as a wing-back one of your primary duties is to defend, and it’s fair to say that Spence is pretty good at that as well.
Spence averaged the same number of tackles last season as Hakimi did in 2020/21, while he actually made one more interception per game on average than the Moroccan did. He also made more clearances and was dribbled past less often, so it’s fair to say that he’s pretty sturdy when it comes to defending.
On the ball, there is a clear difference as Hakimi was dispossessed far less often than Spence during that season, so that is something Antonio Conte will have to work on if he gets his hands on the Englishman, but, all-in-all, statistically, Spence comes out as Hakimi’s equal in terms of attacking, while he actually puts out better defensive numbers than the former Inter man.
Yes, we acknowledge that you have to take into account the gulf in class between Serie A and the Championship, but at the age of just 21 and with a manager like Conte, there’s no reason why Spence couldn’t have a very similar impact in the Premier League in this Spurs team next season.
The 21-year-old could genuinely be a perfect wing-back in Antonio Conte’s system.
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