Agent says Tottenham signed ‘extraordinary’ £21m player ahead of ‘everyone’
Tottenham Hotspur defender Destiny Udogie has enjoyed a solid maiden season in the Spurs first-team so far.
The Tottenham talent’s agent has now criticised Serie A’s biggest clubs by failing to challenge Spurs for his client’s signature years ago.
Speaking to Tuttomercatoweb, Stefano Antonelli claimed that “there wasn’t the impetus” from Italy’s footballing giants to do a deal for Udogie.
When Tottenham signed Udogie from Udinese in 2022, several footballing figures including Fabrizio Romano tipped him for stardom.
As per the terms of the deal, the 20-year-old stayed put in Udine last season. This term, we’re finally seeing how good he is in a Tottenham shirt.
Udogie has made 10 Premier League outings for Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs, also chipping in with two assists for his teammates.
While Tottenham are reaping the rewards after putting the work in to sign Udogie, Italy’s footballing giants have been left wondering what might’ve been.
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Antonelli made his feelings known about the situation, with only Udinese owner Gino Pozzo coming in for praise for signing Udogie after he came through the ranks at Hellas Verona.
He told TMW: “If there is a limit that Italian clubs still cannot overcome today, it is the courage to invest (in young players).
“I invite anyone and challenge them to tell me which Italian club didn’t want Udogie. They all wanted him.
“The only one who accelerated the deal was Gino Pozzo. He bought him for €2.8million euros and sold him after ten months for €26million.
“Now, with what he is doing, he doesn’t have a defined price. But we spoke with Juventus, with Milan, with Inter.
“Everyone liked Destiny. Everyone wanted him but, at that moment, there wasn’t the impetus to do the deal. We don’t invest in Italians (in Serie A).”
Tottenham strike gold as Udogie backed to become Spurs legend
Tottenham have well and truly struck gold with Udogie. At just 20 years of age, he’s already looking like a top-end Premier League star, and Spurs have got him for just £21million (ESPN).
He has done so well that Tottenham legend Micky Hazard recently backed Udogie to become the best Spurs left-back of all time.
Gabriele Cioffi, head coach of Udinese, previously described Udogie as ‘extraordinary‘.
Meanwhile, Italy’s elite have been left empty-handed. They would have to make gargantuan offers to even persuade Tottenham to come to the table for transfer discussions now.
Likewise, Serie A’s giants similarly missed out on Guglielmo Vicario and Leeds United’s Wilfried Gnonto, two more players who look like they could become stars for Italy.
