Udinese director Pierpaolo Marino has admitted that there is a ‘negotiation underway’ as Tottenham Hotspur close in on a deal to bring wing-back Destiny Udogie to the Premier League, speaking to Udinese Tonight.
But nothing is done just yet.
And while football’s Twitter-based town crier Fabrizio Romano uttered those three immortal words on Monday night – ‘Here we go’ is almost as good as an official unveiling these days – there is still some way to go before the £20 million-rated Udogie is confirmed as a Spurs player.
As Marino points out, Udinese prefer to keep their star players for at least two seasons. And it is only 13 months since the Italy U21 international joined Le Zebrette from Serie A rivals Hellas Verona.
“There is a negotiation underway,” Marino says, via Tuttomercatoweb.
“(But) talking about it when there are still no formalities is very complicated. It’s nice that there is an important offer for Udogie. But Udinese only sells their players for the right amount and tends to keep them for two years.
“We will try not to deny these parameters.”
Tottenham hoping to sign Destiny Udogie from Udinese
Tottenham, then, may still have some sweet talking to do. Udogie will reportedly return to the Stadio Friuli on loan for the 2022/23 campaign, allowing Udinese to achieve their ambition of retaining the much-admired 19-year-old for a second season.
Brighton and Hove Albion and Manchester City – both of whom have been left frustrated by Marc Cucurella this summer for very different reasons – also made approaches for Udogie. The Roma and Lazio target is keen to work under Antonio Conte and Spurs however and with good reason (Football London).
Victor Moses, Marcos Alonso and Achraf Hakimi to name but three; Conte the ‘Wing-back Whisperer’ feels like the ideal coach for a teenager with such vast potential.
Udogie, potentially a long-term replacement for Ivan Perisic at Tottenham, produced five goals and three assists from out wide during his excellent breakthrough season in Italy’s top flight.
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