Italy boss pleased with Tottenham Hotspur star Destiny Udogie’s versatility
Italy national team manager Luciano Spalletti has suggested that Tottenham Hotspur star Destiny Udogie can play in midfield as well.
Spurs signed him from Udinese in the summer of 2022 but loaned him back to the Italian club for the season. During that time, Antonio Conte preferred Ivan Perisic in that position.
But things changed during the course of the campaign. Conte was gone, Ange Postecoglou came in, and he has handed Udogie playing time consistently this season as he looks to build a team for the present and the future.
The 20-year-old was named in Italy’s squad for the UEFA Euros 2024 qualifiers in October at the expense of Leonardo Spinazzola. He won his first cap for I Nerazzurri after he was sent to play the final 11 minutes of their 4-0 win over Malta.
Big day for Udogie
He came on for Federico Dimarco, another world-class left-wing-back, and played very high up the pitch, akin to a left-sided midfielder. He has also been seen playing as an inverted left-back where he comes in centrally to play as a defensive midfielder at times.
Speaking about the former Udinese man, Spalletti said, via Tuttomercatoweb.com:
“Then there are those who can cover multiple roles: Udogie played as a midfielder and can also be used in that role.”
This bodes well for Udogie, who is young and making a great impression at the club and international level. For Spurs, he already has 10 appearances across competitions this season and has overtaken Perisic for the left-back berth.
We don’t really have a shortage of midfielders, especially after Yves Bissouma’s revival and Rodrigo Bentancur’s imminent injury return. But modern football is seeing more and more of inverted full-backs being used in transition.
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Udogie had a perfect day at the office for Italy. The Spurs starboy grabbed the assist for Davide Frattesi’s stoppage-time goal to make the scoreline 4-0. He will hope to appear for I Nerazzurri once again when they face England on 17 October away from home.
