Leeds United should sign £16m Premier League defender to replace Djed Spence

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Leeds United shocked everyone with the decision to send Djed Spence back to Tottenham Hotspur early.

Spence joined on a season-long-loan deal from Spurs in the summer for a loan fee that could’ve potentially risen to £2 million, but after just seven appearances, his time at the club has been cut short.

Interestingly, it was actually Leeds’ decision to end Spence’s time at Elland Road, which was a surprise considering he was just starting to find his groove after recovering from a two-month knee injury.

But Leeds will have to move on quickly from this debacle and look to bring in a replacement. Archie Gray is first choice right now but ultimately is a 17-year-old playing out of position, while backup options Luke Ayling and Jamie Shackleton are injured and clearly not fancied too much by Daniel Farke.

Fenerbahce’s Bright Osayi-Samuel has been linked with a move to the Whites in recent days, but Leeds should instead look to a target a player they wanted in the summer – Nottingham Forest’s Neco Williams.

Leeds should target Williams to replace Spence

It was reported by the Daily Telegraph in November that Williams was a player Leeds were keen on in their pursuit of a new right-back.

Having missed out on the signing of Max Aarons, Spence was the man they turned to, but Williams was also on the club’s radar and so it would now make a lot of sense to reignite their interest.

In that same article from the Telegraph, it was claimed that Forest were open to loaning £16 million Williams out this month. However, they have since changed manager and so his current situation is unclear.

Williams started Nuno Espirito Santo’s first game in charge against Bournemouth but has come off the bench in each of the last two, with Gonzalo Montiel first choice.

Forest also have the likes of Serge Aurier and Ola Aina capable of playing right-back, meaning they are extremely well stocked there.

Williams is a player similar to Spence in that he loves to get forward and so it will be interesting to see who Leeds go for, and what Forest are thinking about his future.