Destiny Udogie’s agent says Serie A trio Juventus, AC Milan and Inter all held talks with the Tottenham Hotspur flyer before his £21 million move to the Premier League.
And, speaking to Tuttomercatoweb, Stefano Antonelli believes that the sight of one of Italy’s brightest talents leaving his home country and embarking upon a new challenge elsewhere is a damning indictment of the transfer policy of Serie A clubs.
Tottenham Hotspur’s gain, after all, is Juventus, Milan and Inter’s loss.
And Antonelli cannot understand why there appears to be such a reluctance to invest in Italy’s most exciting homegrown players, Juventus and co holding talks with the Destiny Udogie but failing to match Spurs’ £21 million offer.
Tottenham took the plunge with Destiny Udogie
“If there is a limit that Italian clubs still cannot overcome today, it is the courage to invest (in young players),” the agent explains.
“I invite anyone and challenge them to tell me which Italian club didn’t want Udogie. They all wanted him. The only one who accelerated the deal was (Udinese owner) Gino Pozzo. He bought him for 2.8 million euros and sold him after ten months for 26 million euros.
“Now, with what he is doing, he doesn’t have a defined price. But we spoke with Juventus, with Milan, with Inter. Everyone liked Destiny. Everyone wanted him but, at that moment, there wasn’t the impetus to do the deal.
“We don’t invest in Italians (in Serie A).”
Prior to his sending off against Chelsea, Udogie had been one of this season’s breakthrough talents, a flurry of activity on the left-hand side of Ange Postecoglou’s defence. The Verona-born 20-year-old even earned a maiden Italy cap in October, making his first Azzurri start against England at Wembley in a Euro 2024 qualifier.
Serie A giants could have had him
“We are happy with everything that is happening, and Destiny is very happy to be at Tottenham,” Antonelli told Gianluca di Marzio a few weeks back. “(Former Spurs director) Fabio Paratici who, even in a moment in which there were (Ryan) Sessegnon, (Sergio) Reguilon and (Ivan) Perisic, thought it appropriate to make an investment for Tottenham.
“The Premier League, as we know, is an extreme economic world. And signing two starters for so little (Udogie and fellow Serie A import Guglielmo Vicario) is almost a unique case.”
