Djed Spence 'to complete Tottenham Hotspur move this week'

The England Under-21 international was a key figure in Nottingham Forest's successful promotion push last term with three goals and five assists to boast from 46 games in all tournaments.

Spence also helped Steve Cooper's side reach the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, but the Tricky Trees did not strike a permanent deal for the defender, who is now back at the Riverside.

However, Spence has been widely expected to secure a move to a Premier League club in the summer transfer window, with Arsenal and Tottenham both heavily linked with a move.

Spurs quickly edged ahead of their North London rivals in the race for Spence, but chairman Daniel Levy has so far been unable to reach an agreement with Middlesbrough.

Spurs' long-running pursuit of Spence could finally be about to bear fruit, though, as The Telegraph claims that Antonio Conte's side are on the verge of sealing a £15m deal for the right-back.

The report claims that a final agreement is yet to be reached between the two clubs, but Tottenham hope that Spence will complete his medical and put pen to paper on his long-term contract within the next couple of days.

Spence would therefore be able to link up with the Tottenham squad when they fly to South Korea on Saturday for their pre-season tour, and Middlesbrough could pocket as much as £20m with performance-related add-ons.

Boro boss Chris Wilder recently expressed his hope that Spence's proposed move to Tottenham would go through with minimal difficulty, telling the Northern Echo: "Hopefully, it will come to a quick conclusion because that would help everybody.

"That's the way we'd like it to be, although the situation isn't always straightforward. It is taking its time, but hopefully, it can get sorted. If not, then as I've said all along, Djed comes back to us."

Middlesbrough have reportedly rejected previous offers of £10m and £11m for Spence, who prepares to leave the club after scoring two goals in 70 games since arriving from Fulham's academy in 2018.

The 21-year-old would become Conte's fifth signing of the summer window, following Richarlison, Yves Bissouma, Fraser Forster and Ivan Perisic to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

However, Tottenham will be without Richarlison for their opening Premier League game against Southampton on August 6 after the forward was given a one-game ban by the FA for throwing a flare into the crowd during Everton's win over Chelsea in May.

Spurs' first pre-season fixture of July sees them face a K-League XI on Wednesday, and Conte's side will also take on Sevilla, Rangers and Jose Mourinho's Roma this month.