Djed Spence will be intent on producing another Carabao Cup masterclass when Tottenham return to action in the competition on Thursday evening. Facing Manchester United in a quarter-final tie at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the right-back is a key reason for the team having the opportunity to set up a semi-final date in early 2025.

After all, it was his timely intervention that stopped Spurs from slipping to an embarrassing third round exit at the hands of Championship side Coventry City back in September. Introduced at half-time in place of Destiny Udogie, Spence was in the right place in the 88th minute to restore parity after making a wonderful run into the penalty box.

His goal gave Tottenham a lifeline and also a much-needed boost as they went on to win the game four minutes later courtesy of Brennan Johnson. Although Spence was not to feature in the following round of the competition against Manchester City, he could well make an appearance on Thursday night against Manchester United.

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The 24-year-old has had to be incredibly patient this season in regards to pitch time, with his omission from the Europa League squad not exactly helping his cause as he looks to secure regular football in a Spurs shirt almost 30 months on from his move from Middlesbrough. Spence's opportunity finally arrived on Sunday evening as he took the place of Pedro Porro at right-back for Tottenham's game at Southampton.

Obviously rusty due to only making five appearances this campaign prior to the trip to St Mary's, Southampton goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale told TNT Sports ahead of the game that his team would hope to take advantage of Spence's lack of football and push on for the win.

"I remember watching Djed Spence in the Championship go up with [Nottingham] Forest, so we know he's a great player as well," explained the goalkeeper. "To come out from the cold almost and compete in the Premier League is going to be tough, so hopefully we can use that to our advantage and push on for three points."

Ramsdale could not have been more wrong as Spence made a telling impact 37 seconds into the game as he played in James Maddison for the opener. It was the full-back at his marauding best as he turned Flynn Downes on the halfway line before driving forward and slipping in his teammate to convert inside the area.

Constantly looking to get forward and attack for Tottenham when given the opportunity, Spence was also to have a hand in the team's second and fifth goals of the night as Son Heung-min and Maddison added to the scoreline. Spence's role in Maddison's second was to come from the opposite side of the pitch after moving across to take the place of the injured Udogie at left-back as Porro came on and took his usual berth on the right side.

Looking equally at home on the left as he does in his usual position on the right, the ex-Nottingham Forest loanee continued to have a say on the game after swapping flanks before making way in the 77th minute. He did appear to be limping come the full-time whistle, which is perhaps not that much of a surprise given his limited minutes since the season kicked off.

A shining light on a very good night for Tottenham, Spence, on his first Tottenham start, came in for plenty of praise from head coach Ange Postecoglou.

"They were great. Lucas is growing all the time, but he's 18. Archie is 18 and how many Premier League clubs are going to start two 18-year-olds in their line-up," said the Australian when asked about Spence and fellow starter Lucas Bergvall. "Djed has had to bide his time. To be fair, it's the one area of the pitch where we've had cover this year with Archie playing at right-back, so he's had to be patient.

"It's a testament to him and the coaches who have worked with him in training that he could come on today. We needed him for sure, not just to play but to make an impact and he did. Great reward for his patience and perseverance."

Spence signalled that he is 'hungry for more' with a three-word Instagram post after the game and the one-word message on his Instagram story which was rather apt was 'mentality'. A number of Tottenham players were quick to praise the full-back, with Maddison writing 'proud of u' in response to his teammate's message.

The London-born full-back will be hoping that this is just the start of things to come in a Tottenham shirt after making a real impression on his full Spurs debut. So often left to watch on from the sidelines after promising displays for Tottenham, Spence has now put himself in a really good position to possibly start against Manchester United in the Carabao Cup in midweek.

He was positive from the off at Southampton and his performance on the south coast has only raised the question as to why he hasn't featured more for Postecoglou and Tottenham this term. The player has certainly done more than enough to earn a second successive Tottenham start, thus leaving his head coach with a big call to make.

Question marks will surround Udogie's participation in the game after suffering with tightness in his quad prior to his substitution after Pape Matar Sarr's goal. Postecoglou mentioned in his post-match press conference that he doesn't think it's anything significant at this stage and that Udogie's early exit was more precautionary due to the amount of injuries the team have picked up over the past two months.

If Udogie is able to play no part then Spence will be leading the way to operate at left-back, just as he did in the second half of the 3-0 win at Manchester United earlier in the season. The other option if Udogie is fit would be for Spence to continue at right-back and hand Porro more of a rest after only getting a breather for 28 minutes at St Mary's on Sunday.

Tottenham fans have had to wait a long time to see the real Djed Spence in action. It was certainly worth the wait as he played a major role in Spurs hitting Southampton for five.

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