Tottenham Hotspur are gearing up for a statement game against Everton this weekend after failing to score in all three of their first Premier League matches of the 2026/27 season, extracting their sole point last weekend in a 0-0 draw with Nottingham Forest.
The integration of new stars like Savio and Omar Marmoush is one big selling point that things are going to get better for Spurs, but the returns of key players from last season like Mohammed Kudus and Destiny Udogie to full fitness are other big storylines to watch for the Lilywhites.
With all the attention of the new faces or the star names in the attack like James Maddison and Kudus, it feels like Udogie has become underrated, including around N17. Perhaps it's because so many are missing World Cup hero Djed Spence or hopeful that Liverpool legend Andy Robertson can have a major impact on the team in 2026/27, but it feels like Udogie has become quite overlooked.
Destiny Udogie is great on both offense and defense
But as much as some fans are pining over the sale of Spence after his big summer with England, it can't be forgotten that Destiny Udogie soundly outplayed Spence in the 2025/26 Premier League campaign - and the only reason why that isn't an obvious fact is Udogie's one real Achilles' heel, which is his injury history.
Injuries plagued Udogie last season, but when he was healthy, he was one of the best ball winners and progressive left backs in the Premier League. And that's not new territory for Udogie. See, as much as Djed Spence was touted for his defending and ability to win the ball, Udogie's numbers have actually always been better; it's just that he doesn't get as much credit since people fixate on the fact that he's way better driving the ball forward than Spence, meaning they call Udogie the "offensive" fullback and Spence the "defensive" one when the Italian international is better at both.
Look at the numbers. In his last healthy season in 2024/25, Udogie was averaging a whopping three tackles per game with just 0.6 dribbles completed allowed per match, which is a pretty insane 5:1 ratio for a fullback, particularly a fullback averaging 1.5 fouls drawn per game.
What Tottenham Hotspur need to be doing with their underrated fullback is getting his key passes and creative numbers backup from where they were at Udinese in Serie A. And that will come with better forward play from the acquistions of Omar Marmoush and Savio.
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