Djed Spence arrived at the 2026 World Cup with plenty of doubters, but the Tottenham defender has left the tournament with another remarkable statistic to his name.There were plenty of raised eyebrows when Thomas Tuchel included Djed Spence in England’s World Cup squad, especially after the Tottenham full-back struggled for regular starts under Roberto De Zerbi, who often preferred Pedro Porro and Destiny Udogie.When questioned about selecting Spence ahead of players such as Lewis Hall and Trent Alexander-Arnold, both of whom enjoyed far stronger domestic campaigns, Tuchel pointed to three key qualities that made the Spurs defender stand out, including his outstanding one-on-one defending and pace.Spence went on to justify the England manager’s faith with a series of impressive displays throughout the tournament, particularly catching the eye in England’s semi-final defeat to Argentina, where he was widely regarded as one of the Three Lions’ standout performers.Credit: @thefrederikkejensen / InstagramDjed Spence’s pace backed up by remarkable World Cup numbersIt appears Tuchel’s assessment of Spence’s pace was well founded. Following the conclusion of the tournament, Opta revealed that the Tottenham defender recorded the highest top speed of any player to feature for at least 90 minutes at the 2026 World Cup, clocking 33.3 km/h. 33.3km/h – Among players to play 90+ minutes at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, 🏴Djed Spence recorded the fastest top speed. Flash. #AskOpta https://t.co/EpnvqIRT90— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) July 16, 2026Interestingly, those figures differ from FIFA’s official tracking data. FIFA’s statistics list Kylian Mbappe as the fastest player at the tournament with a recorded top speed of 37.61 km/h, while Spence ranks eighth on 36.22 km/h. Surprisingly, sitting between them is another Tottenham defender, Micky van de Ven, who recorded 36.77 km/h, the third-fastest speed of the competition.Despite the discrepancy between the two data sets, anyone who watched Spence throughout the World Cup will know just how explosive he looked.The performance continues a trend for the 24-year-old, who also finished joint seventh for top speed in last season’s Champions League after reaching 34.3 km/h.Tottenham should think twice before selling Djed SpenceDespite his impressive World Cup campaign, Spence’s future at Tottenham has unexpectedly become uncertain.Everton were the first club to register an interest, with reports suggesting they were prepared to offer around £25m for the defender. That was followed by interest from Liverpool, while Fabrizio Romano has since confirmed that Inter Milan also view Spence as one of their priority targets this summer.Inter are reportedly hoping to complete a deal for around €25m-€30m (£21.2m-£25.5m), although Tottenham are demanding more, with negotiations still ongoing. One recent report has suggested that an offer in the region of €35m (£30m) could be enough to secure his signature.Based on what Spence has shown over the past year, though, Tottenham should be extremely cautious about sanctioning his departure. Destiny Udogie and Andy Robertson currently provide De Zerbi with options at full-back, but Udogie’s recent injury record makes it difficult to rely on him across an entire campaign, while Robertson is no longer at the peak of his career.Even if Spurs are considering Neco Williams as a replacement, the Nottingham Forest defender has yet to prove himself on the biggest stages in the way Spence has. Selling one of the quickest and most athletic full-backs in world football could easily prove to be a decision Tottenham come to regret.READ MORE: Major Tottenham boost as Manchester City line up Savinho replacementThe post Tottenham star tops World Cup speed rankings as Spurs face £25m transfer dilemma appeared first on Spurs Web.