Football Italia

Destiny Udogie was ruled out of Tottenham’s Europa League game against Ferencvaros on Thursday, but Ange Postecoglou said the Italy international ‘will be okay’ in a Premier League match against Brighton on Sunday.

Udogie was not available for Tottenham’s away 2-1 win over Ferencvaros yesterday but is expected to recover for the upcoming Premier League match against Brighton.

Speaking at a press conference two days before the next league game, Spurs boss Postecoglou provided a brief injury update on the Italian left-back: “We think Destiny will be okay [for the next match],” the coach said as quoted by Football London.

Postecoglou provides Udogie injury update for Tottenham and Italy

“We have training today and tomorrow so he has to get through that.”

This means Udogie will likely be fit to play for Italy against Belgium and Israel during the October break.

La Gazzetta dello Sport provided the probable Azzurri squad for upcoming international games, including Udogie among Spalletti’s picks.

The 21-year-old made his senior Azzurri debut a year ago in a 4-0 victory over Malta and has five appearances with Italy’s national team.

He was introduced as a substitute in the most recent matches against Israel and France, providing an assist against Les Blues.

Italy international Guglielmo Vicario made an extraordinary reaction save for Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League against Ferencvaros, which had fans on their feet.

The game in Budapest saw pressure building on Spurs and Barnabas Varga had a goal ruled offside.

Moments later, Varga thought he had scored again with an effort from point-blank range, but the Italian had other ideas and made the remarkable stop.

The offside flag went up eventually here too, but it was further confirmation that while he may struggle when pressed to the limits of the rules on corners and free kicks, there are few better shot-stoppers in world football.

The statistics confirm this, as he has the highest shot-stopping grade (90.2) of every Premier League goalkeeper this season.

Vicario save in Ferencvaros-Tottenham

Italy international Guglielmo Vicario captained Tottenham for the first time in a 3-0 win over Qarabag FK last night: ‘I day I will never forget.’

Italian goalkeeper Vicario captained Tottenham for the first time on Thursday night, contributing to a 3-0 win over Qarabag FK in the first Europa League game of the season.

“A day that I will not forget. The first one as captain, leading this great club at home, in a European cup and, more importantly, getting the 3 points. Proud,” Vicario wrote on Instagram.

“This one is for those fans that are always by our side no matter what.”

Vicario, 27, has kept two clean sheets in six appearances across all competitions with Tottenham this season, conceding five goals.

A former Empoli and Cagliari goalkeeper, last night’s game also marked Vicario’s debut in a European competition.

The Italian goalkeeper has made two appearances with the Azzurri and recently spoke about the national team’s improvements in games against France and Israel.

Vicario suggested that both the team and coach Luciano Spalletti understood their errors after a disappointing EURO 2024 elimination, leading to back-to-back victories in Nations League games in September.

Vicario joined Tottenham from Empoli in a €18.5m deal in 2023, and his contract in North London runs out in June 2028.

Italy goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario escaped without punishment after handling the ball outside his own area during Tottenham’s 3-1 victory over Brentford in the Premier League on Saturday. Here’s why the former Empoli goalkeeper avoided a booking.

Mid-way through the second half of Tottenham’s victory over Brentford, Vicario came to claim a cross right on the edge of his penalty area. He managed to fumble the catch, and his momentum was carrying his body outside of the penalty area.

Vicario instinctively made a couple of touches with his hands in an attempt to recover from his error. For the first, the contact with the ball was made inside the area, though his feet were outside the box at the time.

The second and third touches of the ball, though, were clearly taken outside the box when slowed down on the replay.

Why Vicario avoided punishment for handball against Brentford

Referee John Brooks did not spot the offence in real-time, and decided to wave play on without rewarding a free-kick. In fact, Brentford defender Kristoffer Ajer and Bess coach Thomas Frank were handed bookings for dissent instead.

Some supporters felt that Vicario should have been sent off due to the positioning of the incident, however, it did not deny a clear and obvious goalscoring opportunity, so the decision not to send him off was correct.

The referee would have been within his rights to hit Vicario with a yellow card, but as he did not stop play at the time, and as the incident did not deny a clear and obvious goalscoring opportunity, VAR did not feel the need to intervene.

For that reason, Vicario was allowed to continue as normal, without a booking on his record.

Riccardo Calafiori was delighted with Arsenal’s win in the North London derby against Tottenham on Sunday and reacted with an Instagram story from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

The Italy international was unavailable due to an injury he had sustained while on international duty with Italy on Friday, September 6.

However, he still followed his teammates in a North London derby at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday, celebrating their victory with an Instagram story.

Calafiori took a picture seconds before the end of stoppage time and made his feelings clear with three fire emojis.

Tottenham Hotspur had made an approach for Lecce full-back Patrick Dorgu, claims Fabrizio Romano, but he has since been transformed into a more attacking role.

Spurs weren’t the only big club to have set their sights on the versatile Dane, who turns 20 next month, as Juventus and Milan had also been heavily linked with a bid.

However, they were all scared off by the €30-35m asking price.

Dorgu ready to flourish at Lecce

Lecce were determined to keep hold of him and he is starting to show why, scoring on his senior international debut for Denmark.

Initially a left-back, the Salentini have been using him in a new, more advanced role so far this season, as part of an attacking trio supporting the centre-forward.

Dorgu joined the Serie A side’s youth academy from Nordsjaelland in 2022 and was purchased a year later for just €200,000.

His contract with the club runs to June 2027, though he is expected to negotiate an extension at improved personal terms.

Milan have confirmed that new signing Emerson Royal will wear the no. 22 shirt during his first season in San Siro, following the official announcement of his move from Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur.

Emerson Royal joins Milan from Tottenham

The Brazilian finally made his move to Milan official on Monday evening, joining the Rossoneri in a deal reported to be worth €15m plus an extra €2m in additional bonuses.

The 25-year-old right-back has put pen to paper on a four-year deal with the option for a further 12 months. He will reportedly earn around €3m per season in wages.

The former Barcelona and Real Betis defender is Milan’s third new signing of the summer, following the additions of Alvaro Morata from Atletico Madrid and Strahinja Pavlovic from RB Salzburg.

Emerson and his new teammates will get their first taste of Serie A action this season when the league season kicks off this weekend. Paulo Fonseca and his players are due to take on Torino at home on Saturday, kicking off at 19.45 BST.

Milan have officially confirmed the signing of right-back Emerson Royal on a permanent deal from Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur.

Official: Milan sign Emerson from Tottenham

The 25-year-old arrives in San Siro on a permanent transfer at a reported cost of €15m, plus an extra €2m in performance-related add-ons, according to reports in Italy.

The former Barcelona and Real Betis full-back has agreed to a four-year contract with the option for an additional 12 months. He is set to receive around €3m in annual salary.

He becomes Milan’s third new signing of the summer, following the additions of former Atletico Madrid striker Alvaro Morata and ex-RB Salzburg centre-back Strahinja Pavlovic.

Emerson is set to wear the no. 22 shirt during his first season under Paulo Fonseca.

Negotiations between Milan and Tottenham went on for months in the end, but the two clubs finally reached an agreement on fees and the structure of the deal last week. That is despite the fact that the Rossoneri had an agreement on personal terms with Emerson several weeks prior.

Emerson is a 10-time Brazil international, who made his debut for the Selecao in a 3-0 win over South Korea under Tite back in 2019.

He has 73 LaLiga appearances to his name from his two-and-a-half seasons on loan with Real Betis, plus a further three in the Spanish top flight from his brief time in Barcelona’s first team.

He has spent the last three seasons in the Premier League with Tottenham, where he made just over 100 appearances in all competitions.

The date for Milan to finalise their agreement with Tottenham Hotspur for Emerson Royal is pushed back yet again, but it should be done for €15m plus €2m in add-ons.

The negotiations have dragged on all summer and the fact that the player wanted this transfer has never been in doubt.

The Rossoneri haggled over every detail and Spurs had originally wanted €20m plus bonuses to part with the Brazilian.

That was gradually lowered, while Milan raised their proposal from €12m plus add-ons.

Milan and Tottenham decide Emerson Royal price

According to multiple sources including Sky Sport Italia transfer expert Gianluca Di Marzio and Calciomercato.com, the deal will eventually be done for €15m plus €2m in bonuses.

There were suggestions it could be done today, but once again the talks have crawled along and the date is put back by another 24 hours.

All parties remain confident it will not go beyond the weekend and he can fly in for a medical by the end of the week.

Emerson Royal already agreed a five-year contract with a salary worth €3m per season plus performance-related bonuses.

Milan are confident that Tottenham Hotspur will let Emerson Royal leave for his medical over the next 48 hours after months of negotiations.

The right-back made it clear earlier in the summer that he wanted to make the move to San Siro and agreed personal terms, but getting a deal done with the club was a very different matter.

According to Tuttosport and Tuttomercatoweb, the talks are now down to the final details and it could be all over within 48 hours.

The final cost of the operation is believed to be €15m plus €1-2m in performance-related add-ons that might be quite difficult to activate.

This is a significant discount from the original Spurs asking price of €18m plus bonuses, but still rather more than Milan had intended to pay.

Emerson Royal a long-standing Milan target

The 25-year-old has 10 senior caps for Brazil and his versatility has impressed the Rossoneri, as he can play as a right-back, in a more advanced role or even in central defence when needed.

His contract with Tottenham Hotspur only runs to June 2026, but they paid €25m to sign him from Barcelona in the summer of 2021.

Emerson Royal amassed 101 appearances in the Spurs jersey, scoring four goals and contributing two assists.