Roberto De Zerbi has a Premier League Manager of the Month award to show for Tottenham’s October revival, but he also has a defeat at Elland Road to chew over.
Spurs’ October revival hits a snag at Leeds
The Lilywhites were chasing a fourth straight league win when Noah Okafor came off the bench and needed just a couple of minutes to score the only goal for Leeds.
Tottenham had gone six league games without a win before beating Coventry City, then took six more points from Chelsea and Crystal Palace without conceding, and that run took them from the bottom end of the table to within striking distance of the European places.
There’s a decision to make up front in January, too.
Spurs are prepared to help Richarlison find a club after he fell out of favour with De Zerbi, and after Everton tried to bring him back in the summer, they’re being linked with the Brazilian once again.
Lucas Bergvall is also attracting interest from Barcelona, Napoli and Juventus, as per recent reports.
Spurs would want a replacement lined up before letting him go in January, and Juventus have their eye on another player in De Zerbi’s squad.
Destiny Udogie wants out as Juventus weigh up loan
Destiny Udogie is reportedly looking to leave Tottenham in search of regular football.
Spurs are looking to find him a loan move, and Juventus have put the Italy international on their shortlist as Luciano Spalletti looks to strengthen the left side of his defence, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport.
The clubs have already done business this season, with Pape Matar Sarr moving from Spurs to Turin in September after Guglielmo Vicario, and a loan would let Juventus address the position now before deciding where to spend in the summer.
Andy Robertson’s arrival from Liverpool in the summer changed things for Udogie, who has started only twice in the Premier League this season.
His last appearance amounted to 13 minutes off the bench against Crystal Palace, after a knee problem picked up at Old Trafford kept him out of the wins over Coventry and Chelsea.
|
Destiny Udogie’s injury absences for Tottenham |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Season |
Competitive Spurs games missed |
Main spells |
|
2023/24 |
8 |
Six after quadriceps surgery, plus two earlier absences |
|
2024/25 |
13 |
Eleven with a hamstring injury, plus two separate thigh setbacks |
|
2025/26 |
22 |
Two knee spells, two hamstring spells and one April muscle injury |
|
2026/27 to 13 November |
3 |
Everton, Coventry City and Chelsea |
|
Total |
46 |
|
Robertson started again at Leeds, with Ben Davies on the bench and Udogie out of the squad. Tottenham’s September Carabao Cup exit at Liverpool took away another chance to get minutes, so it’s easy to see why a return to Serie A would appeal to a player who made his name at Udinese.
Letting Udogie go could leave Tottenham short
De Zerbi was leaning on Udogie himself only a few months ago.
The defender started six of the Italian’s seven games in charge at the end of last season as Spurs stayed up, and a year earlier he played the full 90 minutes when they beat Man United in the Europa League final.
When Udogie is fit and driving through midfield with the ball, he can turn a routine pass out from the back into a break.
Getting a run of games has been the hard part. Udogie managed 20 league appearances last season and missed eight competitive fixtures in one spell after hurting his hamstring in December.
At 23, he has time to get back to the level Spurs saw in Bilbao, and playing most weeks would give him a chance to do it.
With Udogie under contract until 2030, Tottenham can send him out on loan and make a decision on his future in the summer. The catch is that Djed Spence has already gone to Inter and Souza is spending the season on loan at Porto.
If Robertson gets injured after the window shuts, De Zerbi could be relying on Ben Davies to play week after week on the left.
