Spurs' Destiny Udogie is READY to prove himself to Ange Postecoglou
Tottenham’s Destiny Udogie insists he’s ready to prove himself to Ange Postecoglou as he raves about the Australian’s style and insists Spurs are going to have a ‘good season’
- Spurs defender Destiny Udogie is hoping for first-team chances next season
- The 20-year-old scored in Tottenham’s pre-season defeat against West Ham
- Udogie joined last summer but spent the season on loan at Udinese
Finally, Good News for Tottenham. One year after he signed, Iyenoma Destiny Udogie has joined up with the squad, promising to help Ange Postecoglou bring back fun and flair as a left-back who idolised Brazil and Real Madrid legend Marcelo.
Udogie is Italian, born in Verona, to parents of Nigerian heritage. He signed last summer in a deal worth up to £20million from Udinese but stayed there for another year to develop in Serie A.
His first name means Good News, and he hopes to bring a change in fortune for the club he watched struggling from afar last season, stumbling as they sacked Antonio Conte and went through two interim managers before appointing Postecoglou after his success at Celtic.
‘Almost every Premier League game, I was watching them,’ said 20-year-old Udogie, who scored and impressed on his first appearance for Tottenham in a 3-2 defeat against West Ham in Perth on Tuesday.
‘The Premier League is a difficult league. Every year, it turns. The team was good, just not lucky with the season.’
Tottenham defender Destiny Udogie (middle) is hoping for first-team opportunities this season
Udogie (right) joined Spurs last summer but spent the season on-loan at Serie A side Udinese
Postecoglou has already impressed upon his players his desire to see an adventurous brand of football after the cautious, counterattacking styles of Conte, Jose Mourinho and Nuno Espirito Santo.
‘I like his idea of football,’ said Udogie. ‘He wants to play football with the ball. Wants to have the ball. I feel like this is going to be a good season for us. We’re going to play good football.
‘I know it is a big league, a very challenging league. I’m ready, I have confidence, I feel ready.’
Although recognised as a wing-back, the Italy Under-21 international has no doubt he can adapt to play for Postecoglou in a back-four without losing his attacking strengths.
‘The new gaffer is really good, I’m ready to work for him,’ said Udogie.
‘Obviously he plays with 4-3-3, so left-back, not left wing-back.
New Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou has been getting to grips with his squad in pre-season
The Spurs defender (middle) believes the club are going to have a good season in the Premier League
‘As a left wing-back, you are more free to attack, you have more space to attack. You play full width so it’s different. As a left-back you have to defend, it’s not more, not difficult, but more busy.
‘There are more options. I’m good because when I started I was a left-back. It’s not a problem for me. I know how to play it.
‘I want to have the ball. I like to attack, to overlap the winger, to cut inside, to come inside driving the ball, different things. I used to watch Marcelo a lot. I love the way he played football, it was so clean, the technique, the style, everything.’
Destiny was speaking at a Tottenham Hotspur Global Football Development session with beneficiaries from Telethon, one of the largest charities in Western Australia, raising funds to deliver programmes for sick, vulnerable, and disadvantaged children. Participants were invited to the team’s open training session in Perth on Monday, from which all proceeds will be donated to Telethon.
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