Credit: Imago/talkSPORT

James Barker

Sat 23 May 2026 9:10, UK

Gabby Agbonlahor has defended Thomas Tuchel’s decision to select Tottenham Hotspur‘s Djed Spence in his England squad for this summer’s World Cup.

Tuchel has announced his 26-man England team for the upcoming World Cup, and to the surprise of many, Tottenham’s Spence has got himself a place on the plane.

Spence has endured a mixed 2025-26 season with Spurs, playing 43 times in all competitions but putting in largely inconsistent performances that has made his campaign a tough one to evaluate.

Competition at the full-back spots was fierce in the Three Lions pool, but Tuchel has opted to take Spence over the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Lewis Hall respectively, given the Spurs man can play on both flanks.

However, despite a mixed bag of Tottenham performances, Spence will be crossing the pond with England this summer, and that’s a decision that has pleased Agbonlahor.

What Gabby Agbonlahor said on Djed Spence’s England call-up

Spence has reported interest from Juventus this summer, leaving his Tottenham future firmly up in the air.

Having signed from Middlesbrough back in the summer of 2022, the 25-year-old full-back has been sent out on numerous loan spells with differing levels of success, before becoming a regular first-team fixture from 2024 onwards.

Spence is renowned for his pace, and it’s this key attribute of his that’s got Agbonlahor delighted that Tuchel has taken him to this summer’s World Cup.

Speaking on talkSPORT on Friday, the former England international outlined exactly why Spence should be in the England team.

“I always love my full-backs to be quick,” Agbonlahor began.

“Because when you’re playing against the French team for instance, if we did get to the final, or Brazil, you’re maybe playing against Vinicius Junior, (Michael) Olise, (Desire) Doue, (Bradley) Barcola, (Ousmane) Dembele, (Kylian) Mbappe.

“If you can have speed on that right-hand side with Djed Spence, it could be a call that he (Thomas Tuchel) plays him before Reece James, even if Reece James is fit, playing against an Mbappe or one of them quick wingers.

“Pace kills. It’s good to have it across the pitch.”

How do Djed Spence and Reece James’ stats compare?

Agbonlahor presents a fair and understandable point regarding Spence’s speed, as we’ve seen former-Tottenham counter top, pacey wingers with England for many years.

However, Walker’s game wasn’t just about his pace, as he was able to so often get the better of speedy wingers by being excellent in the tackling and duel-winning department too.

Spence’s strengths don’t lie in this area though, whereas James’ do, meaning that despite him being slower than the Tottenham man, the Chelsea star might still be a better option to deal with the type of players Agbonlahor listed.

As per FotMob, Spence won just 47.5 per cent of his ground duels and 46.7 per cent of his aerial duels in the Premier League this season, whilst James won 59.4 per cent and 66 per cent respectively.

Both playing 1,966 and 1,923 league minutes respectively in 2025-26, Spence averaged 1.19 successful tackles per 90 as opposed to James’ 1.54.

James also made 1.54 interceptions per game compared to Spence’s 0.78, whilst they were both dribbled past on 10 occasions.

It’s certainly going to be fascinating to see how/when Tuchel deploys Spence in the World Cup, but some of his defensive numbers compared to James’ should hand the starting nod to the Chelsea star.