Showing strength and creativity in Serie A, Hellas Verona immediately launched plans to sign the youngster. Udinese have a well-established scouting network that has produced some good players including Alexis Sanchez and Rodrigo De Paul, but they don't need to travel far to scout their newest players this time around.
In his first season on loan at Udinese, Destini Udoki started almost every game and has proven to be more than just strength and power. In addition to his explosiveness, he also possesses technique and vision, and is pleased with his ability to dribble the ball in attack. His acceleration and inability to ** make him a nightmare for opponents. His stature is also an innate advantage for this young man. When you see him running fast on the pitch during a game, you wouldn't expect him to be so fast.
Udinese turned his loan spell into a permanent deal in the summer of 2022, but just a few months later, Tottenham brought him to Tottenham on a five-year contract.
At that time, Tottenham had a coach who was known for his love of full-backs - Antonio Conte. In the various teams under Conte, his full-backs offer different values, but always share certain traits – stamina. What's more, having a player who can provide attacking width when the winger cuts inside, like Son Heung-min and Dejan Kulusevski.
Destini Udoki has been on the radar of some of Italy's biggest teams, but the tight budget has forced the sporting director to be very cautious when buying youngsters. Surprisingly, however, the rising star of Destini Udoci failed to catch the attention of Italy's then-head coach Roberto Mancini. After all, Mancini is a manager who is willing to provide opportunities for young people, such as Aston Villa's Niccolò Zaniolo, who was called up to the team despite not playing in Serie A.
Destini Udoki was largely ignored and was only invited to a training camp organized to observe 53 of Italy's most exciting young men.
One of the reasons for the perceived omission is that Destini Udoki is used to playing as a full-back in a 3-5-2 formation and may therefore be unfamiliar with the four-man back line that Mancini relies on. However, Destini Udoki had played as a midfielder on several occasions before arriving in Udinese, so he was tactically skilful and absorbed instructions well.
When Luciano Spalletti took over, the young defender was soon called up to the team, with the new boss of the Azzurri saying that "Destini Udoki has it all".
He made his debut against Malta and then started against England. Destini Udoki was named the best player in the Italian squad by Sport Milan for providing a real threat in attack while also showing defensive prowess.
Italy lost 3-1, but Destini Udoki impressed the Italians with a performance like a 'veteran', just as he left a deep impression on Tottenham fans.
Tottenham initially extended Destini Udoki's contract until 2027, but soon offered Destini Udoki a contract extension until 2030 with a pay rise.
In the national team, Luciano Spalletti made it clear that Destini Udoki belongs to his team and that he will compete for the starting position with Federico Dimarco, who could be one of the best in the world.