Destiny Udogie has started four games for Tottenham this season. Andy Robertson, signed on a free in the summer, has started eight of Spurs’ first nine Premier League matches, and the 23-year-old Italian left-back has slipped down the pecking order.
A knee injury picked up against Manchester United did not help, keeping him out through late October before a return to the bench in November.
Sport Witness, relaying reports from Corriere dello Sport and Tuttomercatoweb, says Udogie is pushing De Zerbi for more minutes and is unhappy backing up Robertson. The Corriere, per the same report, writes that the left-back has been “rejected” by the Tottenham manager.
Spalletti is shopping for a left-back
Luciano Spalletti’s Juventus have wanted a new left-back for months. Barcelona’s Alejandro Balde is the stated dream target, with an Atalanta option reportedly valued around €25m floated as a fallback. Udogie, with Premier League pedigree but limited minutes, is framed as the realistic middle option, with Juventus preferring a loan.
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De Zerbi’s veto
A January exit still has to go through De Zerbi. To The Lane And Back reports the Italian is unwilling to sanction a mid-season departure, having already let Djed Spence leave in the summer, and wants Udogie fit and competing with Robertson rather than out of the squad.
His authority at Spurs has grown. De Zerbi won the Premier League’s Manager of the Month award for October after three wins and a draw turned the season around.
The Italy route
Udogie has not been called up by Italy for more than a year. A return to Serie A, and specifically to the Spalletti side where he has history, would be pitched as a route back into the Azzurri squad. Spalletti handed him his senior international debut in October 2023.
No formal approach by Juventus has been made public and Tottenham have not commented. The January transfer window opens on 1 January 2027.
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