Tottenham Hotspur full-back Destiny Udogie has signed a new contract with the club until June 2030.
The Athletic reported on Monday that Tottenham had reached an agreement with Udogie over an improved deal that includes a pay rise. The 21-year-old’s previous contract, signed in August 2022, had been due to expire in 2027.
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Udogie spent last season back on loan at Udinese, who Spurs had bought him from, before arriving in north London ahead of the 2023-24 season.
The Italy international has become a key player under head coach Ange Postecoglou, starting every Premier League game he has been available for this season.
Udogie scored his first goal for Spurs in Sunday’s 4-1 win over Newcastle United and has also registered two league assists.
The defender earned his first senior Italy call-up in October and has since won his first two caps.
‘Knowing I had Postecoglou trust was big motivation’
Udogie didn’t make his competitive Spurs debut until August, against Brentford on the opening weekend of the Premier League season.
He has since been a revelation, adapting seamlessly to a new role as an inverted full-back in a back four having almost exclusively played as a wing-back in a back five previously. It’s hard to believe he is new to the position and is only 20.
Signed when his compatriot Antonio Conte was the head coach and another Italian Fabio Paratici was running the transfer operation, Udogie was viewed as one day being the perfect wing-back for Conte’s 3-4-3 system. This was the position he played for Udinese and it felt like a natural fit.
By the time Udogie rejoined Spurs after his season-long loan back with Udinese (where he enjoyed another impressive campaign with three goals and four assists in Serie A), Conte and Paratici had left their positions, and there was a new head coach in place.
But Postecoglou immediately made it clear to Udogie how much he valued him. “The first day I came in, he called me to speak with him and he told me I’m a key player for him,” Udogie says. “He explained what he wanted from me, and knowing I had the trust of the head coach was a big motivation.”
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Others at the club felt that Udogie had developed a lot in the year since signing — that the boy had become a man.
Read more from Charlie Eccleshare’s exclusive interview with Udogie.
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Destiny Udogie: 'Knowing I have Postecoglou's trust is a big motivation'
(Photo: ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images)
