Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham open talks to sign Udinese star Destiny Udogie in £21m deal but Conte already has plan in place for defender

Destiny Udogie Udinese

Tottenham have reportedly opened talks with Serie A club Udinese over signing defender Destiny Udogie and already have a plan in place for the left-back for the new season.

The 19-year-old defensive star is known to be attracting plenty of interest from a number of Premier League clubs, while Inter Milan are also looking at the possibility of bringing the player to the San Siro.

However, Sky Italia and transfer insider Fabrizio Romano claim that Spurs are in talks and hope to complete a £21million deal for the talented Italy Under-21 international.

Antonio Conte does already have a plan in place for the player though. The Italian will likely loan Udogie back to Udinese to continue his development.

Tottenham are already well stocked at left wing-back, with Ryan Sessegnon backing up Ivan Perisic in that role.

Sergio Reguilon was a regular starter in the first half of last season but the Spaniard will be offloaded this summer.

And it looks like Spurs have one eye on the future with Udogie, who earned rave reviews last season.

The young defender scored five goals in 35 games for the Serie A side last season. He also notched three assists.

City, Brighton also keen on Udogie deal

In terms of other Premier League sides showing an interest, Manchester City are known to be keen.

The reigning Premier League champions have been looking to land Brighton’s Marc Cucurella. However, Chelsea’s late intervention looks to have put paid to that move, prompting Pep Guardiola to turn back to Udogie.

Cucurella is expected to complete a £50m switch to Stamford Bridge, with Blues youngster Levi Colwill heading in the opposite direction.

Brighton themselves, however, are also being tipped to bring in Udogie as Cucurella’s natural replacement.

The Seagulls could also offer Udogie Premier League first-team football straight away. That is something that would not be on the cards at Spurs or City.

Udogie a left-back too far for Tottenham

While the Italian youngster looks a terrific prospect, Tottenham need to invest in other areas of the pitch first.

Paying £21m for a teenager who was a regular in Serie A last season and then loaning him straight out makes little sense.

Spurs should use their remaining summer transfer kitty more wisely and look to bring in that playmaker Conte still wants.

Nicolo Zaniolo and James Maddison appear to be the leading targets in that regard. And signing one of those would benefit Harry Kane in his role as goalscorer and creator in chief.

Conte is also looking to add another centre-back into his back three mix after loaning out Joe Rodon.

READ MORE: Tottenham Predictions 2022/23

Tottenham Hotspur Antonio Conte Destiny Udogie

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