Destiny Udogie is a 19-year-old Italian under-21 international.
He plays his football on the left-hand side of the pitch and is athletic enough to cover the whole channel.
Udogie came through the ranks at Hellas Verona and made his professional debut just before his eighteenth birthday.
Already amassed over 40 appearances in Serie A, Udogie has gained valuable match experience at the highest level.
This summer, Tottenham Hotspur signed the fullback for a reported £16 million from Udinese Calcio.
The deal involved Udogie staying in Italy for this season to continue his development.
So far, the 19-year-old left fullback has featured in all of Udinese’s matches as they currently sit in a UEFA Champions League qualification place.
Having just been shortlisted for the Golden Boy award, there is no doubt that Spurs boss Antonio Conte will be keeping close tabs on how the young Italian develops ahead of his return following the end of the 2022/23 season.
This scout report will provide an analysis of how Udogie is one of the best up-and-coming fullbacks in Europe.
It will be a tactical analysis of the 19-year-old and the manager Andrea Sottil’s tactics to get the best out of him.
Destiny Udogie Player Profile
The Italian U-21 international is a very sharp and athletic player.
He plays as a wingback under Sottil and has exceeded in this position.
Destiny Udogie is comfortable with all the responsibilities it brings, both defensively and offensively.
He spends the majority of his time in very advanced attacking positions where he looks to receive the ball.
The 19-year-old is accustomed to playing as a wingback in a variation of a ‘back five’ formation.
Udinese’s formation is similar to the one deployed by Antonio Conte at Tottenham Hotspur.
Both look to utilise a back five, so Udogie will have a good understanding of his role in terms of positioning and what to expect.
One difference is that Udinese plays with a front two rather than the front three that Spurs use, so some development in terms of link-up play and off-the-ball movement will most likely occur once he is integrated into Conte’s side.
As his heatmap shows, the former Hellas Verona player excels at maintaining width and maximising the pitch’s size.
Udogie often finds himself receiving the ball almost on the touchline.
Destiny Udogie Heat Map
Furthermore, it is clear to see that Udogie covers the whole length of the pitch and continues to work hard for his team with and without possession.
Destiny Udogie Defensive Capabilities
Being part of an Antonio Conte team means that you must be prepared to defend, especially as part of the defensive unit.
Udogie is a good defensive player who uses his physical attributes well.
Standing at 6’2″ tall, Udogie is no pushover.
The young defender is well able to go shoulder-to-shoulder with most wingers in the Italian top league.
The main feature of Udogie’s style of play is his aggressive nature off the ball.
He is eager to make an impact defensively at the first given opportunity.
On many occasions, he wins the ball back in situations you wouldn’t expect.
This is a great attribute to have as it sets his team up for many counterattacks.
His aggressive style sees him pick the pocket of opponents, and his tall stature helps him to win the ball back.
In the example below, Destiny Udogie wins possession fairly before starting a counterattack.
Udogie’s defensive responsibilities allow for him to push further up the pitch and win the ball back in positions similar to this, something which he will look to carry over into the Premier League.
Not only is he aggressive, but he is also sharp and quick on his feet.
By understanding the flow of the game and reading the opposition, he can make up ground to dispossess his opponents.
Although the 19-year-old doesn’t make many interceptions, Destiny Udogie’s aggressive style of play allows him to be immediately there to tackle his opponent when they take a touch.
Above is an image where Udogie manages to stop his opponent from receiving the ball.
Even with his positioning being a little far away from the Sassuolo player, he is able to react quickly and put his opponent under pressure.
Another key attribute that helps Udogie defend so well is his pace.
He is so quick over both short and long distances that it helps him to recover defensively.
The Italian U-21 international sometimes relies on his speed to get him out of a difficult situation.
Along with his pace, he can read the game well and anticipate the opposition’s next pass.
As you can see below, Destiny Udogie makes a good recovery run to stop a goal-scoring opportunity that has arisen. 
It is crucial for a fullback to be alert to these situations and be able to cover for teammates, as situations like the above can occur frequently.
If someone is out of position, slips or loses concentration, it is the fullback’s job to bail his teammate out.
Udogie is excellent at this, and his pace certainly helps him to cover for his teammates.
Looking ahead to next season, when he will potentially be playing Premier League football, he must continue to develop his defensive reading and positional understanding in situations like these.
However, there are some areas of weakness to his game, it must be noted that he is only young and is still learning and developing so it is likely that these will not be an issue forever.
One main concern is his defensive understanding when in isolation during 1v1 situations.
As a wingback, scenarios like this occur many times over 90 minutes.
Udogie is sometimes indecisive in what to do; this leads to bigger problems being created as he tends to get caught in two minds.
Firstly, should he engage tightly with his opponent, or secondly, delay and wait for support?
In the example shown above, Udogie is not close enough to engage but is also not in the correct position to delay.
This causes his opponent to exploit the space that he has almost been gifted due to the wingback’s poor positioning.
To combat this, Udogie needs to have a more conservative approach to his style when defending 1v1.
He loves to engage quickly with opponents, but, as you can see, sometimes it leads to him being caught out.
He should have positioned himself a few yards deeper to ensure he had more control over the situation and his opponent.
In situations in the wide channels, Udogie sometimes relies on his speed to help him recover.
On occasion, this works, and he can regain possession after chasing down his opponent.
However, it is a risky game to play as, more often than not, the attacking player can make use of the extra yards and punish Udogie.
Destiny Udogie Attacking Threat
With the ball under his control, the Italian is a powerful attacker.
Down the left side for Udinese, the future Spurs star enjoys the space ahead of him and regularly finds himself in the final third.
When Udogie receives the ball, his first thought is immediately to look forward and progress play.
This is typically achieved by dribbling the ball and advancing into the space ahead.
Below is an example of where Destiny Udogie knocks the ball past his opponent and sprints with it.
Even late in the game, he still manages to drive up the pitch.
Not only does this relieve pressure defensively, but it also encourages his teammates to move up the pitch.
Furthermore, Udogie is very proactive in the final third and acts similarly to a winger in the sense that he looks to take on his opponents and beat them.
He is confident with the ball at his feet and can come infield on his right foot as well as directly down the line on his preferred left.
When Destiny beats his man, he picks his head up to try and find a teammate who has made a run into the penalty area.
Udogie´s crossing ability needs some improvement; however, he does create dangerous opportunities in wide areas.
Destiny Udogie Penetrating Carries Map
Above are Udogie’s penetrating carries so far this season.
Having amassed 18 already, he is undoubtedly a threat on the left side of the pitch.
Confident and direct with the ball, he is well able to cause opposition defences trouble.
As mentioned, Udogie is comfortable on his weaker right foot.
The 19-year-old is able to carry the ball inside and drive with it into the box.
The future Spur likes to combine with teammates and scored a great goal earlier this season, pictured below, where he played a clever one-two pass inside the box.
Destiny Udogie Data Analysis
The table below shows the percentile ranks of Destiny Udogie amongst all other Serie A fullbacks and wingbacks who have played over 200 minutes so far this season.
Destiny Udogie Attacking Data
Starting with the attack, those coloured pink, it is no surprise that the fullback excels in this part of his game.
This could be due to the role the Italian youngster plays, as he has a lot of attacking freedom and perhaps more than other fullbacks in the league.
Nevertheless, Udogie is definitely a real attacking threat.
As previously mentioned, Destiny’s dribbling is exceptional, and he ranks in the 86th percentile for dribbles per 90.
A clear indication of how he likes to play and looks to impose himself on the game.
It is not only this stat which stands out but also the high rank for touches in the opposition box.
Again he ranks very highly this time in the 93 percentile.
This provides a clear indication of just how advanced Udogie plays when his side has possession of the ball, and, along with the high score for progressive runs, reveals exactly what he is about.
A relatively low score for offensive duels won is worth mentioning as he is sometimes caught in possession of the ball having taken too long to make a pass.
It is an aspect of the game that he will develop and improve upon.
Destiny Udogie Defensive Data
The defensive data, coloured white, paints a clear picture regarding Udogie’s nature off the ball.
As mentioned, the 19-year-old loves to engage quickly with his opponent and press them upon their first touch.
Ultimately this results in a large number of fouls and Udogie ranks extremely high on this, 90th percentile.
His discipline has been managed, and he is often substituted once he receives a yellow card.
This is mainly due to his physical approach and the way he tackles opponents.
Destiny tends not to make many interceptions due to this.
He ranks low for PADj interceptions, at the 7th percentile, but this is not a reasonably accurate reflection of Destiny Udogie’s defensive capabilities.
Andrea Sottil’s coaching style sets his side up and makes it difficult for Udogie to sit and wait for an opponent to make a pass that he can intercept.
A clear reflection of his defensive ability is the high rank in defensive duels won, at the 83rd percentile.
Udogie is strong and determined to regain possession.
He excels at winning battles against opponents due to his physical stature.
Destiny Udogie Passing Data
Passing data (coloured yellow) shows that Udogie is not yet the finished article.
As briefly mentioned, Udogie does not attempt or complete many crosses, ranking in the 14th percentile for crosses per 90.
A telling part of this is his passes to the final third ranking.
He is comfortable on the ball and is always looking to progress play forwards.
Conclusion
Overall, Tottenham fans can certainly be happy with the signing of Destiny Udogie.
The young fullback will bring excitement and athleticism to the Spurs side.
He fits perfectly into Antonio Conte’s formation, and with some more defensive development, the Italian will go on to have a successful career in London.
It was a shrewd bit of business by Tottenham to send Udogie back on loan whilst he continues his development, as his stocks will only go higher.
Although Spurs fans will have to wait until next season at the earliest to watch their new signing, hopefully, it will be worth the wait.
