Djed Spence #25

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Spence says he keeps a mental note of all his doubters. He was sent on loan three times by Spurs before establishing himself, and was also loaned out when he was at Middlesbrough in 2021, with then-manager Neil Warnock warning him he’d be in non-league football in five years unless he changed his attitude. After winning promotion with Forest, who he joined on loan from Boro, he tweeted a photo of himself with the trophy, smoking a cigar, and tagged Warnock. “I wouldn’t say I particularly have a list but I do have a mental note of people who doubted me, for sure, and it does feel good to prove them wrong,” he says. “I’ve always had that from a young age, I’ve always had to fight for my position.” When he made his England debut last year he became the first Muslim to do so for the senior men’s side. “It’s a blessing, it’s amazing. I was surprised, really, the first ever. If I can do it, you can do it. It’s [important] not just for Muslim kids but for any child of any faith. Put your mind to something and you can do it, man.”

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