In this week’s update on how the Spurs players are doing out on loan, Football.London have revealed that Destiny Udogie earned the praise of Udinese boss Andrea Sottil in his first game back for the Serie A club.
Spurs agreed on a fee of £18m including add-ons with Udinese for Odogie, with the North London club loaning the 19-year-old back to the Serie A club for the 2022/23 season.
The Italy Under-21 international made his first appearance of the season on Saturday as he played the full 90 minutes in Udinese’s 0-0 draw at home against Salernitana.
Sottil spoke in glowing terms of the wing-back’s qualities but admitted that he still has room for improvement.
The Udinese boss said about Udogie’s display: “We all saw what sort of player he is last season. His bursts forward are important for us, and he has so much room for improvement – his off-the-ball movement, for example.
“Twice he came across brilliantly to make a defensive block, and when you’re capable of doing that, you can make a big difference either at wing-back or in a back four.”
After returning to Villarreal on loan, Giovani Lo Celso got his first minutes off the bench last week in the La Ligas side’s 4-2 win over Hadjuk Split in the Europa Conference League play-off.
MORE SPURS STORIES
The Argentine then got his first start of the season on Sunday as Villarreal pulled off a surprise 2-0 win over Atletico Madrid at the Metropolitano Stadium.
Tanguy Ndomnbele was an unused substitute in Napoli’s 4-0 win over Monza on Sunday but the Frenchman has seemingly already won Luciano Spalletti over.
The Napoli boss said about the on-loan Spurs star ahead of the game: “Ndombele can play in any midfield position. I was struck by his enthusiasm when he arrived at Napoli. He has an incredible desire to win and shows great willingness.
“As soon as I saw him in training, I could envisage him wearing the Azzurri shirt. He’s a powerful player but also has quality. He has great technical ability, especially in pushing the team forward.”
After starting Rennes’ first two Ligue 1 clashes, Joe Rodon was an unused substitute as Bruno Genesio’s side picked up their first win of the season at home against Ajaccio on Sunday.
While Dane Scarlett is yet to get on the scoresheet for Portsmouth, the 18-year-old registered his first assist of the season in Pompey’s 3-1 victory against Bristol Rovers on Saturday.
The teenager, who came on for the 26 minutes, delivered a perfect cross for Owen Dale, who is on loan from Blackpool, to head home in stoppage time.
That was Dale’s first goal for Pompey and the 23-year-old praised Scarlett for his unselfish play.
He said after the game: “I think that Dane was well within his rights to have a shot in that situation because he’s a great finisher. We had a little bit of eye contact, and he’s put the ball in with a brilliant cross – he put it on a plate for me.
“He gave me the whole goal to head it into, and it’s certainly a moment that I’m never going to forget.”
Meanwhile, Troy Parrott got another 90 minutes under his belt as Preston North End played out a 0-0 draw against Watford on Saturday.
Lancs Live gave the on-loan Spurs striker a rating of 6/10 and wrote about his display: “Dropped deep to link up play and was lively in the first half. Looked after the ball well up against big defenders but drifted in and out of the game in the second half. Had a couple of sights at goal – one saved from a distance and another blocked.”
Spurs Web Opinion
The fact that Preston have played out four 0-0 draws in their five Championship matches so far this season, is quite concerning. Ryan Lowe’s side are evidently struggling to create chances, which is not ideal for a forward like Parrott, who needs goals to get his confidence up.
Keep up to date with all the latest Tottenham news and opinion by following SpursWeb’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.
