Who is Destiny Udogie? The teenage wing-back set for Tottenham

 

The summer signing of Ivan Perisic means Tottenham, at the time of writing, have three left wing-backs on the books. Ryan Sessegnon is currently first choice for the north London side, with Perisic providing quality cover and competition for the youngster. Sergio Reguilon is now deemed surplus to requirements at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, yet even so; it's a surprise to see Spurs in the market for another left wing-back. 

 

Admittedly, Spurs will loan Destiny Udogie back to Udinese should they complete their move for the young Italian in the coming days, but interest in the 19-year-old is for good reason. It won't be long before the teenager earns international recognition for the Azzurri having made his debut for the U21 side last September, and that first senior cap would justified following a fine season with Udinese. 

 

Udogie ended 2021/22 with a WhoScored rating of 6.80, not one to shout home about, but he was directly involved in nine league goals last season, scoring five, an impressive return for a player in his position, and his form saw Udinese make his loan move from Verona permanent. Only new Spurs man Perisic (10) has directly contributed to more Serie A goals of full-backs and wing-back than Udogie (8) in 2022. 

 

 

What's crucial for any wing-back in Antonio Conte's favoured setup is that these players provide the width, capitalising on any space vacated by the forwards. In Son Heung-Min and Dejan Kulusevski, Conte has two forwards that look to cut inside from the left and right, respectively, opening up space for the wing-backs to bombard up the pitch. 

 

This allows Spurs to swarm opponents, as they did so excellently against Southampton in their 4-1 win on Saturday afternoon. Just 24% of their attacks came through the middle against Saints, which highlights how important the wing-backs are in the three-man backline. In this instance, Udogie would be key down the Spurs left. A return of 1.4 successful dribbles per 90 was a modest return, and the fifth best of all Udinese players, while one key pass per 90 was also solid for a Zebrette side that averaged just 42.1% possession last season, that the 18th lowest. 

 

Crucially is that Conte looks for his wing-backs to put the ball in the box to help create goalscoring chances. This is an area of Udogie's game that can be improved upon. He only attempted 17 crosses in Serie A last season, but did return a cross success rate of 29.4% in the process, that ranking 67th of the 222 players to attempt 15 or more crosses. It's an approach that can be coached into the player, and one that Conte would undoubtedly seek to add as a weapon to the wing-back's arsenal. 

 

Conte has been credited with the improvements to Sessegnon, Emerson Royal and Matt Doherty, and a player as young as Udogie would benefit immeasurably from the Italian's tutelage at both ends of the pitch. As solid as Udogie was in the final third, the Udinese man also excelled when out of possession. 2.3 tackles per 90 ranked 23rd of all players in Serie A last season, while he won possession in the defensive third 92 times, that placing 32nd in Italy's top tier. 

 

An adept performer in both attack and defence, he has the tools to succeed in a number of systems, be it sitting deeper when protecting a lead or getting forward when dominating. This style of play means Udogie would also aid when aiming to hit opponents on the counter, with Spurs showing last season how ruthless they can be when they do break. 

 

In pursuing Udogie, it's clear that Spurs are preparing for the future. By the time his loan spell with Udinese ends next summer, Perisic will then be 34, and this in turn would ease pressure on the former to transition quickly to the Premier League. That said, given his standing and approach to the game, Udogie seems tailormade to English football and if, or even when, Spurs wrap this deal up, then they'll have their left wing-back position sorted for years to come.

Who is Destiny Udogie? The teenage wing-back set for Tottenham