Tottenham Hotspur have been hit by another blow in their pursuit of Middlesbrough right-back Djed Spence after suffering a fresh setback with their latest offer.

The Lowdown: Weeks of negotiations

The 21-year-old helped Nottingham Forest to achieve promotion to the Premier League during his loan spell last season, with his outstanding performances at the City Ground catching the eye of the Lilywhites.

Sky Sports reported last month that the north London outfit were in advanced talks with Boro over a move for the youngster, but no agreement had yet been made due to the two parties being unable to agree a suitable fee.

Spurs are said to have tabled a €20m (£16.9m) bid which is believed to be below the northeast club’s asking price, but even after submitting an increased offer, it appears that they aren’t any closer to getting a deal over the line.

The Latest: Tottenham increase Spence offer

Taking to Twitter, The Times journalist Martin Hardy has claimed that Tottenham have upped their offer for Spence, but that it’s still not enough for Middlesbrough to do business.

He wrote: “Spurs up bid for Djed Spence by £2 million but still short of Middlesbrough valuation.”

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The Verdict: Splash the cash

Tottenham's pursuit of Spence has been ongoing for a while now, and with Fabio Paratici being the one who initiated the interest in the first place - having travelled to watch his transfer target in action for Forest last season - the north Londoners' director of football needs to take urgent action and get it done.

The longer that Spurs refuse to meet Middlesbrough’s valuation, the more likely it seems that he will stay on Teesside or end up moving to another destination for a lot less than what the Lilywhites have offered.

For the sake of a couple of million pounds' difference, Tottenham and Conte must to invest now if they want to secure the services of their long-time target.

For someone at such a young age with bags of potential - he has been tipped to "go to the top" by his former manager Neil Warnock - it’s a deal which would absolutely be worth it.