Destiny Udogie’s position in the Tottenham XI vs AZ Alkmaar appears safe, feels Paul Robinson
Destiny Udogie has been a mainstay in the Tottenham Hotspur defence since Ange Postecoglou became head coach last summer.
The Italian has quickly established himself as one of the Premier League’s most promising young full-backs. He delivered consistent performances in his debut campaign at White Hart Lane, helping Spurs clinch a Europa League spot.
However, Destiny Udogie hasn’t been at his imperious best so far this season and was at fault for West Ham United’s opener against Tottenham on Saturday. After Spurs’ 4-1 win over West Ham, Ange Postecoglou called out the Spurs left-back for his role in the West Ham goal but praised his overall performance.
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Despite the defensive concerns raised around Udogie, ex-Spurs goalkeeper Paul Robinson feels Ange Postecoglou will not drop the defender from his first XI for the Europa League clash against AZ Alkmaar on Thursday evening.
“I like him as a player but he can be susceptible, but the whole team can be leaky. The back four is not going to change. I think he actually played quite well [versus West Ham] apart from the goal,” Robinson exclusively told Tottenham News.
“With his role going forward, he’s an integral part of the squad so the manager isn’t going to replace him unless there is a severe drop in form. Looking at the players available, Archie Gray isn’t going to play and Djed Spence is out with a groin injury.
“There are no better options than Destiny Udogie, so I think we’ll still see him play against AZ Alkmaar. He makes questionable decisions but looking at what he brings to the team, he was probably the best player out of the back four.”
Udogie actually had a decent game against West Ham, barring his role in the visitors’ opening goal. It just goes on to show how a small mistake can actually overshadow a solid performance, and that’s what happened with the young left-back last weekend.
While the Italy international can be exposed defensively at times, he remains integral to how Spurs build-up play from the back and his output going forward cannot be spoken about enough. Primarily a left-back, the Verona-born talent is often seen drifting into midfield, exploiting pockets of spaces and never shying away from the ball to help his team control the game’s flow.
One must remember that Udogie is still 21 and obviously remains raw in certain aspects of the game. With time, maturity and age, he will definitely improve and iron out the deficiencies in his play. The attacking full-back still has work to do to become a full package at N17.
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As aforementioned by Robinson, we also don’t feel Big Ange will drop Udogie from his starting XI in Spurs’ crucial Europa League encounter against AZ Alkmaar. Injury or Big Ange’s plan of rotating the squad could be the reasons for his absence from the lineup in midweek.
