Football Italia

Udinese have sent a message of support to their former player, Destiny Udogie of Tottenham Hotspur, who has recently been confirmed as the individual who was allegedly threatened with a firearm by a football agent in September.

Udinese support for Udogie: ‘Shameful attack’

The Athletic had reported that a Premier League player was allegedly threatened with a firearm on September 6, and the Metropolitan Police in London confirmed a 31-year-old man had been arrested.

On Tuesday, Tuttomercatoweb in Italy confirmed that the unnamed player was, in fact, Italy international Udogie.

Tottenham Hotspur have since released their own statement confirming those reports, which read: “We have been providing support for Destiny and his family since the incident and will continue to do so. Given this is a legal matter, we cannot comment any further.”

Udinese, where Udogie spent two seasons before joining Tottenham in 2023, have also released a brief statement expressing their support for the left-back, which reads: “The Udinese family expresses its solidarity with Destiny Udogie for the shameful attack, which goes against all values of sport and of life.”

Udogie will turn 23 later this month, and has been in England since the summer of 2023, having signed for Tottenham in a deal worth up to €20m the summer prior.

He has made 75 competitive appearances for Tottenham all told, providing two goals and four assists across that spell, and was part of the Spurs side that won the Europa League last season.

He has 10 appearances to his name across all competitions this season, although six of those have come from the substitutes bench.

Tottenham Hotspur confirmed that Italy international Destiny Udogie is the player allegedly threatened with a firearm by a football agent in September.

The Athletic had reported that a Premier League player was allegedly threatened with a firearm on September 6, and the Metropolitan Police in London confirmed a 31-year-old man had been arrested.

Tuttomercatoweb in Italy then named Udogie as the player who had been threatened, which prompted Tottenham to release a formal statement of their own.

“We have been providing support for Destiny and his family since the incident and will continue to do so. Given this is a legal matter, we cannot comment any further.”

Udogie receiving support after threatened by firearm

The statement from the Metropolitan Police confirms they were called at 23.14 on Saturday September 6 to reports “a man in his 20s had been threatened with a firearm.”

It then emerged “another man in his 20s had also allegedly been blackmailed and threatened by the same individual. A 31-year-old man was arrested on Monday, 8 September on suspicion of possession of firearms with intent, blackmail and driving without a licence. He has been bailed while enquiries continue.”

According to Tuttomercatoweb, the man who allegedly threatened Udogie is a football agent who was angry at being rejected by the Italy international.

The left-back will turn 23 later this month and has been in England since 2023 following the €18m transfer from Udinese.

A product of the Hellas Verona youth academy, he moved to Udinese in 2021, and has 12 senior Italy caps under his belt.

Udogie has made 75 competitive appearances in the Tottenham kit, scoring two goals with four assists, and was part of the Spurs side that won the Europa League last season.

After Como turned down €70m from Tottenham Hotspur for Nico Paz, they are reportedly set to receive extra payment from Real Madrid when he inevitably returns to Spain.

The 21-year-old Argentina international was part of the Real Madrid youth academy since 2016 and was given the opportunity to truly flourish in Serie A.

This was a complicated deal, sold for €6m in 2024 with a series of buy-back clauses set between €9m and €11m from the summer of 2025 through to 2027.

Nico Paz value has surged thanks to Como performances

His performances have already seen the transfer value sky rocket and there were big offers in recent months, most notably the reported €70m from Tottenham Hotspur.

Sport Mediaset in Italy claim that Como and Real Madrid discussed the proposal, but agreed to turn it down, because they knew that his future would bring him back to the Bernabeu.

Other Premier League clubs are also stepping up, including Chelsea and Manchester United, which just goes to confirm how much Como have contributed to his development.

With that in mind, it’s reported that Real Madrid have agreed to thank Como with a much larger payment on top of the agreed buy-back clause, as something of a development reward.

This could be as much as €35-40m, which is how much the Serie A side would’ve pocketed if selling Nico Paz to Tottenham for €70m.

Along with the buy-back clauses, Real Madrid retained a 50 per cent cut of the sell-on fee if the player was moved on.

There seems to be little doubt now that Nico Paz will be wearing the Real Madrid jersey in future, whether it’s in 2026 or 2027.

Former Juventus sporting director Fabio Paratici is set to continue in a consultancy role with Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur after his 18-month suspended prison sentence was approved earlier this week according to reports in the UK.

Paratici set to continue in Tottenham consultancy role

Paratici, along with former Juventus directors Andrea Agnelli and Pavel Nedved were all given long-term bans as part of the Prisma investigation into the artificially inflated transfer fees given to players to help balance the club’s accounts with capital gains.

For Paratici, that ban ended in July, but he, along with Agnelli and Nedved, accepted plea bargains with the federal authorities earlier this summer. Preliminary judge Anna Maria Gavoni accepted those plea bargains earlier this week.

Agnelli agreed to a suspended sentence of one year and eight months, Paratici for one year and six months, and Nedved for one year and two months.

According to reports from The Telegraph in the UK, the ex-Juventus sporting director only accepted the plea bargain to reach the quickest possible settlement, which facilitated a return to work as soon as possible.

Wednesday’s report confirms that Paratici is set to continue in his ‘contracted consultancy agreement’ with Tottenham.

Gianluigi Donnarumma impressed on his Premier League debut for Manchester City over the weekend, but another Italy goalkeeper in Guglielmo Vicario sits atop the clean sheet charts in England’s top flight.

Here is how the Italy internationals in the Premier League got on this weekend.

Donnarumma debut

Donnarumma made a positive impression at The Etihad during his first start for Man City following his €27m transfer from Paris Saint-Germain at the end of the summer transfer window.

Thrown in straight away for his first start in the Manchester Derby this weekend, Donnarumma earned rave reviews for his shot-stopping abilities against Ruben Amorim’s Man United. The highlight for the Italy captain came in the second half, with a wonderful, one-handed diving save to prevent Bryan Mbeumo within the area.

While Donnarumma is not best known for his ball-playing ability, like his Man City predecessor Ederson, there are few better on the planet when it comes to traditional goalkeeping values, ie. shot-stopping and commanding his area.

Donnarumma’s debut earned him an average rating of 8/10 from local outlets.

Vicario has best clean sheet record in Premier League

Tottenham Hotspur and Italy’s Guglielmo Vicario currently boast the joint-best defensive record in the Premier League after four matches.

Vicario started and kept another clean sheet in a 3-0 victory over West Ham in a London Derby over the weekend.

That was Vicario’s third clean sheet from four league matches so far this season, and he has only conceded once so far in the Premier League, which puts him level with Arsenal’s David Raya and Crystal Palace’s Dean Henderson at the top of the charts in the race for the Premier League Golden Glove.

Fellow Italy international Destiny Udogie is still awaiting his first Premier League start of the 2024-25 campaign. He came into the season carrying an injury, and though he has come off the bench in the last two matches either side of the international break, he has dound it difficult to displace recent international Djed Spence, who has impressed in the Italian’s absence.

How the other Italy international got on in the Premier League this weekend

Italy international Riccardo Calafiori started at left-back once again as Arsenal picked up a 3-0 victory over Nottingham Forest. He and his teammates are level with the aforementioned Tottenham and Crystal Palace with the best defensive records in the Premier League so far this season.

The former Bologna centre-back has now started four Premier League matches in succession, his longest run of consecutive starts in the league since leaving the Rossoblu last summer.

Sandro Tonali earned an average rating of 8/10 for his performance in Newcastle’s 1-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers this weekend. The Italy star was involved in the build-up for debutant Nick Woltemade’s goal and earned praise for his positive passing and energy in the middle of the park.

Federico Chiesa once again came off the bench for a cameo appearance at the end of Liverpool’s 1-0 win away against Burnley. Giovanni Leoni, however, did not make the matchday squad on this occasion.

Nicolo Savona earned his Premier League debut sooner than expected, coming on as a first-half substitute for the injured Murillo, but he was not able to prevent the goals flooding in, as Arsenal went on to record a 3-0 victory.

Michael Kayode started in a 2-2 draw for Brentford against Chelsea in the West London Derby this weekend, Wilfried Gnonto appeared off the bench towards the end of Leeds United’s unfortunate 1-0 loss against Fulham, while Diego Coppola was once again an unused substitute for Brighton in their 2-1 loss against Bournemouth.

Former Italy coach Luciano Spalletti and ex-Tottenham Hotspur boss Ange Postecoglou have reportedly withdrawn as options for Fenerbahce.

The pair were considered among the hot favourites to replace Jose Mourinho, who parted company with the Turkish team on August 29.

That decision was taken following their failure to qualify for the Champions League in a 1-0 aggregate play-off defeat to Benfica.

Spalletti and Postecoglou will not be on Fenerbahce bench

According to Turkish transfer expert Yagiz Sabuncuoglu, Spalletti told Fenerbahce he was not interested in getting straight back into management so soon after his sacking from the Italy job.

He was dismissed in June after a disappointing EURO 2024 campaign and two dismal performances in the opening 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

Postecoglou has also reportedly withdrawn his name from consideration for Fenerbahce, but in his case it is because he prefers to wait for an offer from one of the top five European leagues instead.

He was sacked by Tottenham Hotspur over the summer, despite winning the Europa League trophy in the Final against Manchester United.

Juventus had been pursuing a deal to bring Randal Kolo Muani back to Turin from PSG after a successful loan spell in Serie A during the second half of the 2025-26 season, but ultimately lost out on the Frenchman to Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur.

But how were the North Londoners able to get a deal done so quickly, and why did the Old Lady decide to abandon their pursuit?

Why Juventus decided to drop Kolo Muani

Kolo Muani had spent the second half of the 2025-26 season on a straight loan with Juventus, which did not include any option to buy. He went on to score eight goals from 16 Serie A appearances, and later had his loan agreement extended so he could feature for the Bianconeri at the FIFA Club World Cup.

Given that PSG invested €90m in Kolo Muani just two years, bringing him back to Juventus was never going to be a particularly cheap affair.

That led to Juventus exploring options around another loan deal, initially seeking a loan with an option to buy, before later attempting to sign the Frenchman on another dry loan deal. Neither of those attempts proved to be successful, though.

PSG were adamant that they were seeking a fee in the region of €60m to sell Kolo Muani, and were asking for a similar buy-out fee for any loan proposals.

Additionally, Kolo Muani earns a significant salary in the region of €8m per season, which, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport, would not have been out of the question for Juventus, but would have been tricky to budget while Dusan Vlahovic and his €12m salary were still on the club’s books.

In the end, the Bianconeri decided that they would be better off pursuing multiple new additions with the money that it would have taken to sign Kolo Muani.

They were eventually able to bring in a new forward in Lois Openda from RB Leipzig on loan with an option to buy for €40.6m plus bonuses, and were also able to bring in a new winger in Edon Zhegrova for a fee of €15m plus €3m in bonuses.

According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Openda and Zhegrova’s combined salaries are similar to what Kolo Muani earns on his own.

With Juve having decided to go in a different direction towards the end of the summer transfer window, Kolo Muani became available for other teams on the transfer market.

In the end, it was Tottenham who were able to swoop in and offer both PSG and Kolo Muani the terms that they had requested, and were able to announce the signing on the final day of the summer transfer window.

Dele Alli left Como yesterday after just eight months at the club in which the former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder played just ten minutes in which he was sent off against Milan for a clumsy challenge on compatriot Ruben Loftus-Cheek.

In a statement on their official website, Como wished farewell to the Englishman, confirming why the parties agreed to a mutual termination of the contract, “Dele is keen to secure regular playing opportunities and, as he was not part of the club’s immediate plans, both parties felt it was the right decision to part ways ahead of the transfer window closing.”

The club added that they “thank Dele for his time at Como and wish him the very best for the future.”

Former golden boy Dele Alli leaves Como after dismal spell

Alli signed for Como in January on a free transfer, signing a 18-month deal to keep him at the club, in theory, until 2026. It was a gamble for the newly-promoted Serie A side, with the midfielder not playing a minute of professional football in nearly two years.

The Englishman made just one appearance for Cesc Fabregas’ side, coming on as a substitute in the 81st minute against Milan before receiving his red card after a VAR check upgraded the initial yellow.

Alli did not return to the squad after this incident and was told in the summer he was no longer part of Fabregas’ plans.

The 29-year-old will now seek a new club as a free agent.

Milan are considering a dramatic move for free agent Sergio Reguilon, as reports from Italy claim the player’s representatives have contacted the Rossoneri in hopes to convince them to take on the experienced defender to improve squad depth.

According to what has been reported by CalcioMercato, via MilanNews24, Massimiliano Allegri’s side may not be done in the transfer market – despite the window slamming shut yesterday evening.

The reports claim that whilst negotiations are not currently in progress, a move cannot be ruled out if Allegri asks sporting director Igli Tare for the additional reinforcement.

Could former Spurs and Man Utd defender Reguilon join Milan?

Sergio Reguilon has become a bit of a journeyman, playing for six different clubs in the last six years. The 28-year-old, who started his career at Real Madrid, spent the 2019-20 season on loan with Sevilla where he won the Europa League before signing for Tottenham Hotspur in the same summer.

His spell with the North London side was mixed, playing 67 times in all competitions across two seasons before being loaned out to Atlético Madrid, Manchester United and Brentford in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 campaigns.

Reguilon returned to Spurs last season but played just six times in all competitions and left the club as a free agent when his contract expired in the summer.

Juventus are on the verge of missing out on the signing of former loanee Randal Kolo Muani, as the PSG striker is close to agreeing a move to Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur according to the latest updates.

The summer transfer window in Serie A ends today at 20:00 CET (19:00 BST). Make sure you follow all the live updates and confirmed transfers on the Football Italia LIVEBLOG.

Juventus set to miss out on Kolo Muani return

According to reports from Fabrizio Romano, Kolo Muani is close to reaching an agreement on personal terms with Tottenham.

Juventus have been targeting a move for the Frenchman for the vast majority of the summer transfer window following his successful loan spell in Turin in the second half of the 2024-25 campaign. Kolo Muani averaged a goal every other game in Serie A during his time with the Old Lady, with a tally of eight from 16.

PSG also sanctioned an extension to Kolo Muani’s loan deal earlier this year, which allowed him to represent the Bianconeri at the FIFA Club World Cup.

The Bianconeri have explored numerous options and formulae with PSG, including a permanent deal, a loan with an option to buy and most recently a straight loan deal, but have still not been able to secure an agreement.

Now, on deadline day, Tottenham are making attempts to sign Kolo Muani. PSG are reportedly requesting a loan deal with an obligation to buy.