The long wait to watch Destiny Udogie make his first appearance in a Tottenham shirt is almost over. Signed in a deal worth £15 million last August, the Italy Under-21 international headed straight back to Udinese on loan for the remainder of the campaign.
Seen as the man to make the left wing-back position his own over the next few years, the 20-year-old once again had a very impressive season in Italy and contributed with three goals and four assists in 34 games in all competitions. Stating that he is "ready for the future and for the Premier League" in a statement on Udinese's official website at the end of the season, all at Tottenham are now looking forward to getting a proper glimpse of the exciting left-sided player.
Ange Postecoglou's system does mean that Udogie will have to operate in a slightly different position as he plays with a back four rather than using the three-man defence and wing-backs approach that Antonio Conte preferred. Having played as a left-back numerous times in the past, that shouldn't be a problem for the 20-year-old and he will still have the opportunity to push forward and do what he does best under the Australian.
One thing that Postecoglou and the club will have to do for the 2023/24 season is submit a 25-man squad to the Premier League following the closure of the summer transfer window. As is always the case, clubs cannot name more than 17 non-homegrown players on the list and the remainder of the squad, up to a total of 25 players, must be homegrown.
The Premier League define a homegrown player as "a player who, irrespective of nationality or age, has been registered with any club affiliated to The Football Association or the Football Association of Wales for a period, continuous or not, of three entire seasons, or 36 months, before his 21st birthday (or the end of the season during which he turns 21)".
All teams are able to name players 21 and under on a separate under-21 list, which frees up space in the 25-man squad in the process, and that allows them to still play for their club despite the fact they are not on the main list of 25. For the 2023/24 campaign, under-21 players will have have had to be born on or after 1 January 2002.
READ MORE: Premier League squad rules offer insight into Ange Postecoglou's first Tottenham transfer window
Despite not featuring for Tottenham last season, Udogie was still named on the club's under-21 list even though he was playing his football for Udinese. The same will happen once again this season as he is eligible to be included on the list due to his age as he was born on November 28, 2002.
As Tottenham have had issues in terms of the number of non-homegrown players at the club in the past, most notably in Europe where players have missed out on the final squad as a result, Udogie's inclusion as an under-21 player will certainly help the club out as it means he does not take up a place on the non-homegrown list that can instead go to someone else if required. Pape Matar Sarr is another Tottenham player who can be register as an under-21 player as he is 20 years of age.
Tottenham fans could get their first sighting of Udogie in a Spurs shirt during pre-season with games against West Ham, Leicester City and Roma on the agenda as part of the team's summer tour. The Lilywhites will discover their opening day opponents in the Premier League at 9am on Thursday, June 15 when the 2023/24 fixtures are released.
What do you think of the Postecoglou appointment? Have your say below!
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