Tottenham Hotspur will soon complete their seventh summer signing of a hectic transfer window, as teenage Udinese defender Destiny Udogie becomes the latest Serie A player to make the move to North London.
The Lilywhites are understood to have agreed a deal for the Italy Under-21 international which could eventually reach €20m (£16.9m), and he will remain at Udinese on loan for the 2022-23 campaign.
Udogie will aim to become a regular part of Antonio Conte's squad from 2023 onwards, and he represents the latest gem that could yet be uncovered thanks to the watchful eye of Fabio Paratici.
Here, Sports Mole takes a closer look at the up-and-coming defender and his achievements in his fledgling career this far.
EARLY BEGINNINGS
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Born in Verona in 2002, Udogie's path into professional football unsurprisingly began in the youth academy of Hellas Verona, and he would immediately demonstrate an eye for goal at Under-17 level for the Gialloblu.
Udogie would learn his trade as an out-and-out left-back in the Hellas Verona youth system and came up with six goals and an assist in 22 Campionato Nazionale Under-17 games in the 2018-19 campaign, albeit while picking up six yellow cards.
After making the step-up to Under-19 level a year later, Udogie would eventually force his way into Verona's first-team plans under Ivan Juric and made his Serie A debut in a 2-2 draw against AC Milan in November 2020, just 20 days short of his 18th birthday.
Udogie - who often featured as a central midfielder off the bench in Serie A in the 2020-21 season - also played the full 90 in a Coppa Italia defeat to Cagliari that same year, and a loan spell at Udinese made the footballing landscape sit up and take notice.
RECENT FORM
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Starting to thrive in the 3-5-2 system adopted by Luca Gotti and then Gabriele Cioffi, Udogie immediately cemented himself as a first-team regular at Udinese, but the results were not coming for club or player before Christmas time.
The departure of Gotti brought with it an upturn in personal fortunes for Udogie, who only completed the full 90 minutes on four occasions before the turn of the year, but he ended the season with five goals and three assists from 35 top-flight games.
All of those goal contributions came in the second half of the season, including an equaliser against eventual champions AC Milan in a 1-1 draw at San Siro in February, and he only missed two games with a calf problem in September.
Udogie's 6ft 2in frame, nifty footwork and ability to draw fouls were all characteristics of his game in an Udinese shirt, and Le Zebrette only signed him on a permanent deal this summer for a £3.6m fee.
Seemingly taking inspiration from his brief time as a midfielder, the teenager was not afraid to venture into the penalty area or make a driving run through the middle of the park, and his tackling statistics are not bad either.
Compared to other full-backs in Serie A in the 2021-22 season, Udogie is in the 93rd percentile for goals and 91st for tackles won with 1.82 per game, and he is also in the 88th percentile for pressures in the middle third, but his passing statistics leave a thing or two to be desired.
International experience
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Udogie has represented Italy at every level from the Under-16s to the Under-21 side and made his debut for the latter team at just 18 years old - making a total of four appearances last year.
The left-back played four games for the Azzurrini in UEFA European Championship qualifying in 2021 - keeping two clean sheets and helping his side go unbeaten - but he missed further Group F fixtures earlier this summer due to injury.
Should he stay fit over the next 12 months, Udogie will make a very strong case for selection for the 2023 Under-21 Euros in Romania and Georgia, but his path into the senior squad is blocked by the likes of Leonardo Spinazzola, Emerson Palmieri and Federico Dimarco.
As a result, Udogie is still waiting to receive his first call-up to Roberto Mancini's squad, but he would not have had any World Cup commitments this year either way, and it should not be too long before he starts to knock on the Azzurri door if his development continues in the same vein.
