SempreMilan

The agent of Destiny Udogie believes Italian clubs cannot afford the defender, while he gave his thoughts on Igli Tare’s move to AC Milan.

La Gazzetta dello Sport reported earlier in the week that Tare is already beginning to plan his moves for the summer and that – if Theo Hernandez leaves Milanello – a name to follow for the left flank is Udogie.

Tare had already thought about him when he was at Lazio, but Spurs had greater financial strength and pulled off the coup. Now the former Udinese player will once again become a target for the Albanian, while waiting to see how much Spurs want.

Udogie’s agent Stefano Antonelli spoke exclusively to TuttoMercatoWeb.com to reflect upon Spurs’ Europa League win, which several of his clients were a part of, including Udogie.

Udogie has grown a lot in the Premier League…

“Destiny has had a year, like all of Tottenham, with a few more injuries, with a few ups and downs, but now he’s fine, he got this great victory, now he’ll think about the national team and next season. It’s the second year of an incredible experience at Tottenham, where he’s always played.

“Talking about vertical growth is absolutely in line with reality. He’s a player who could play in all the top European clubs. With the Champions League, next season will be completely different.”

What kind of relationship was created with Postecoglou?

“When the first year arrived, we knew there could be a question mark. We were very careful to check whether it was the case to stay at Tottenham or whether it was the case to gain experience elsewhere.

“Not in smaller teams, because in the Premier League there are no smaller teams, but perhaps in teams like Crystal Palace or Bournemouth. Instead, from the very first friendly of the first preseason, Postecoglou has always shown him great faith: if Destiny is well, he plays. He can only thank him for everything he has done and for the esteem he has shown him.”

Will you think about his future? There are rumours from Italy about his return, with Milan possibly being interested…

“The transfer market is always open in all directions. Now I challenge anyone to go and buy Udogie from Tottenham for a figure less than 50 million euros. Which Italian team can do it lightly?

“In Italy, many players have arrived from the Premier League who have done not well, but very well, look at Anguissa, Lukaku, Tomori, to name a few. McTominay is a player in another category. Players who perhaps had little space in England: how can you think of going and getting a Tottenham regular?

“Something special has to happen for the club to let him go. Translated: either a large financial sum, or because he is not part of the technical plans. As of today, it seems to me that I can exclude the second hypothesis.”

What do you think about the imminent arrival of Igli Tare at Milan as sporting director?

“He is a man of football. This makes the difference: he knows the Italian football system perfectly, but he is also linked to those who are the greats of world football. For me he will do very well if he is the chosen one. As he did at Lazio.

“Milan need football people, people who have lived football and who live it, from the pitch to the desk. He is one of these. It is clear that we got here with an incredible soap opera: some people will talk about alternatives, but the pitch will provide the answers and I am convinced that he will do well.”

Dejan Kulusevski would be keen on the idea of returning to Italy according to a former Spurs scout, with AC Milan and Napoli interested.

Mick Brown – who also worked as the chief scout at Manchester United and Blackburn and ‘remains very well-connected at his former clubs’ spoke to Football Insider about the situation related to Kulusevski in view of the summer.

It has been a difficult season for Tottenham who are 14th in the Premier League, 11 points away from European qualification, something which could influence the futures of various players who hold bigger ambitions.

“Kulusevski is one who could leave this summer. I think a lot of the players are frustrated with the way the season has gone at Tottenham,” Brown said.

“Whenever I’ve seen them play, he has been one of if not their best player, so they’re not going to want to lose him unless a really big offer comes in.

“I hear a couple of the Italian clubs have been looking at him – AC Milan and Napoli. It’s a league and a country he knows after his time with Juventus, so a return might suit him. I think he’s going to be interested in those moves should the opportunity arise for him.

“It’s definitely one I think will be feasible even if Tottenham don’t want to let him leave, because he will want to continue playing at the highest level. He’s certainly good enough to do it, so it wouldn’t surprise me to see him go.”

A lot can happen in a few days, especially when it concerns AC Milan. The sporting director pursuit has now resumed after talks with Fabio Paratici collapsed.

Paratici will not be – barring unexpected developments – the next sporting director of Milan. It has been a whirlwind few days, starting with reports of a verbal agreement being reached between the parties, and then followed by an abrupt slowdown with the reasons still filtering out.

Just when the negotiations to define his appointment were coming to an end, things came crashing to a half. It is believed that Milan were initially calm about the situation relating to his suspension until July 20, but then things took a negative turn when they learned about his limited operability.

There was also talk that the upcoming verdict on the Prisma investigation – a criminal trial rather than a sporting one – left CEO Giorgio Furlani a bit uneasy, as did some pressure from Italian football’s governing body, the FIGC.

However, the decision to do a sharp U-turn – something this management are letting us become accustomed to, after the Julen Lopetegui case – might end up proving to be a good thing for Milan.

An expensive profile for a different project

The first point to consider is the economic issue. Paratici represents a high-level profile, accustomed to working at clubs where the budget was not an insurmountable limit, as it is at Milan, especially with the prospect of no European football.

At Juventus, the former manager won nine consecutive Scudetti, often being able to count on significant investments to bring players of the highest level to the club. This was helped by working alongside Beppe Marotta for most of his time there.

Juve almost had a monopoly on domestic talent within Serie A at the time which allowed them to pull strings and bring in Gonzalo Higuain, Paulo Dybala, Federico Chiesa, Manuel Locatelli and many more. They also had the means to go out and get Cristiano Ronaldo, unthinkable for Milan at the time.

⚖️ Oli and AJ went through a top and flop XI of Paratici signings, amid rumours he is close to joining #ACMilan ✍️

🎙 Watch in full: https://t.co/8BXrrnHIc8 pic.twitter.com/WFunQKHpw4

— SempreMilanTV (@SempreMilanTV) March 26, 2025

Even at Tottenham, although with mixed fortunes, he had the opportunity to pursue players that required significant investments like Cristian Romero, Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur among others.

He persuaded the hierarchy to go out and get Antonio Conte too as a guarantee of ambition, aiming to usher in an era of success that has been long-promised and never delivered to Spurs fans, and wasn’t this time either.

Can today’s Milan guarantee similar room for manoeuvre, especially with the pre-defined condition that the new director will be part of a working group? The answer, at least for now, seems to be negative.

Coach and identity

The first major test of the Paratici-Milan project would have been the choice of head coach. If the profile were to be an established coach like Massimiliano Allegri or Conte, we could glimpse a return to the winning mentality that Paratici embodied in his time at Juventus.

The problem is that having such a demanding coach would naturally arouse expectations about a mercato to match. As mentioned, it feels as though the Rossoneri – at this current moment in time – wouldn’t be willing to splash €150m+ in one window like Napoli did to welcome Conte.

On the contrary, focusing on an emerging coach like Roberto De Zerbi or Vincenzo Italiano could give the idea of ​​a project designed to grow over the medium-term, but with scaled-down ambitions. There were concrete rumours that both coaches were on his radar too.

At this point, a question arises spontaneously: are Milan the one who wants to adapt to Paratici’s mentality or vice versa? Without a top-tier coach, the arrival of the former Juventus director would risk being interpreted as a stopgap rather than a turning point.

Post-Marotta question marks

Another aspect that should not be underestimated is the absence of Marotta, with whom Paratici built his greatest successes. Since he emerged from the now-Inter president’s shadow, the manager has never shone in the same way, and his experience at Tottenham has demonstrated this.

Indeed, Paratici’s later years with the Bianconeri drew criticism because of high wage commitments such as the Ronaldo and Aaron Ramsey deals, while investments on certain young talents such as Romero, Merih Demiral and Weston McKennie did not pay off in the immediacy nor became part of the future core.

A spontaneous comparison with Igli Tare arises, the former Lazio director wanted by Zlatan Ibrahimovic at Milan. He is capable of building competitive teams with limited resources, as shown in his 15 years under Claudio Lotito.

If Milan want a pragmatic sporting director capable of developing talent at a low cost, Tare remains a more suitable profile. Paratici brings with him the aura of someone who has won, but without the right resources he has shown that he can flounder.

The possibility of lost time

Moving on from the theoretical and hypothetical, we arrive at the actual reasons that Milan decided not to hire Paratici. Again we start from a premise: this summer is huge for the club, and every second counts in planning for it.

Due to his suspension, multiple restrictions would be in place with Paratici until the end of July, with the importance varying. Article 9.2 states that the Italian would be unable to represent the club in a national or international setting.

This means that he could not participate in council or federal meetings which would be a problem, and he could not enter UEFA conferences. In other words, despite being the new sporting figurehead, he wouldn’t be able to ‘represent’ the club until late July.

Secondly, he could also not access the changing rooms or any adjacent rooms. This might sound trivial, but it has been well-documented that Milan are looking for someone who liaises with the squad on a day-to-day basis.

Finally, he could not engage in meetings with players or agents, which renders him effectively useless until the middle of the mercato. That, we believe, is the crucial sticking point that has forced the hierarchy to reconsider.

Now, we must wait and see what the powers that be ultimately decide. Football often presents many sliding doors moments, and the decision to turn away from Paratici certainly feels like a defining one in Milan’s future course.