Tottenham Hotspur are close to sign Destiny Udogie, in a deal that could see the 19-year-old return to Udinese on loan for the coming season.
Tottenham are trying for Udinese’s highly-rated left back Destiny Udogie.(Getty Images.
🚨 Tottenham Hotspur are now close to agreeing a deal to sign Destiny Udogie.
Sources in Italy have suggested that an agreement has been reached and that the transfer is close to being completed.
– @JBurtTelegraph🥇 pic.twitter.com/XaFmcfQcKM
— The Spurs Web (@thespursweb) August 4, 2022
Tottenham have opened talks to sign Udinese left back Destiny Udogie on permanent deal with potential loan back for this season. Negotiations at early stages now. 🚨⚪️ #THFC
There’s still no full agreement as there are many clubs interested in Udogie. @SkySport pic.twitter.com/5TROTEjmmR
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 3, 2022
Udinese want around £25million for the 19-year-old Italy U21 international, who has also attracted interest from Manchester City, Inter Milan and Brighton.
The Italian side also want Udogie – who still has four years left on his contract with the Serie A outfit – back on loan, something Tottenham are willing to do to allow him to continue his development. Tottenham produced a similar deal 12 months ago when they signed Pape Matar Sarr from Metz.
Udogie made his Serie A debut in the 2020-21 season with Hellas Verona before moving to Udinese. He has since become one of the biggest revelations in Italy, scoring five goals and laying on three assists in 35 league appearances last season.
The Udinese full-back is very interested in the possibility of working with Antonio Conte, who has personally recommended the signing to Spurs’ hierarchy.
Who’s Udinese left-back Destiny Udogie?
A pure left-footed player, blessed with a rasping shot and devastating crossing ability, Udogie also has quite a remarkable physical profile for someone of his age.
He operates as a left wing-back in the 3-5-2 formation and his role with the Zebrette has allowed him to utilize his pace as well as make runs towards the back post.
Udogie with his 1,88m of height, has in his repertoire the fact of being very strong physically but also very fast and this allows him to be a very modern player, being able to do both phases of attack and defense with ease, the young talent is very difficult to contain and overcome.
Breakdown of Destiny Udogie’s traits.
Pace: Udogie has a serious burst of pace which is something in line with the evolution of a modern-day full back. His pace allows him not only to contribute in attack but also to make good recoveries.
Destiny Udogie has some incredible underlying numbers 😯 pic.twitter.com/ezVS2fBBas
— Alex 🇧🇼 (@xAlexTHFC) August 3, 2022
Passing: The manner in which he opens up his body to receive a pass and then quickly release the ball is something you are unlikely to see in most 17-year-old players. Udogie is however an exception. He is very confident on the ball and tries to keep things simple yet effective with good passing.
Weakness: Although there are not a lot of issues in his game and he is too young to be considered the finished product, it would perhaps serve Udogie well if he can work on his tackling ability. While he does possess great physique, he can at times get a little too enthusiastic in his tackles.
Conclusion
At the age of 19, Udogie has a lot of time on his side to develop into a consistent performer in the Serie A. He has scored crucial goals in the league, like the 1-1 draw against Serie A champions AC Milan.
There is no better coach to learn the wingback position from than Antonio Conte. Destiny Udogie is a big game player. He is definitely going to the right place under a manager who seems to trust him.