Spurs struck gold on £15m star who’s now worth more than Maddison

Tottenham Hotspur underwent some changes over the summer, and although Lilywhites haven’t always embraced chairman Daniel Levy, there are indications that the team is moving in the right path.

Spurs, who finished eighth in the Premier League the previous season, have dominated the standings after ten games this year. Although Ange Postecoglou’s team has now lost back-to-back games to Wolverhampton Wanderers and Chelsea, there is a lot of hope that the team has begun an exciting new chapter.

The Australian’s appointment makes sense because of his possession-based, daring style of play, which complemented the thrilling football that typified the glory days of Mauricio Pochettino’s tenure.

Even though Spurs’ consecutive losses were painful to endure after such a strong start, injuries and bans had a significant impact on the team’s ability to stay at the top of the Premier League standings.

The Spurs team had an almost unstoppable aura prior to their recent dip. They had won big games against teams like Manchester United and Liverpool and had drawn impressively against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.

Postecoglou is deserving of all the praise for putting his ideas into practice and doing so with great success. Under his direction, once-struggling players like Cristian Romero and Yves Bissouma rose to prominence.

Heung-min Son is currently flourishing as the star center-forward following in Harry Kane’s footsteps; yet, such achievements have only been made possible with the integration of elite talent.

While Micky van de Ven and James Maddison are the obvious examples, Destiny Udogie has also played a significant role in Tottenham’s comeback. Despite signing more than a year ago, he has blended in well with the new formation.

Why Destiny Udogie was signed by Tottenham
Udogie was acquired by Antonio Conte’s Spurs team in August 2022 for a reported £15 million. Despite showing a lot of promise, it was decided that Udogie’s development would be best served outside of the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium at that time, so he was loaned back to his team, Serie A side Udinese, for the 2022–2023 season.The 6 foot 1 jewel really settled in over the previous season in Italy, scoring three goals and dishing out four assists in 33 Serie A games, and putting on displays that made the decision to include him in the N17 team difficult.

Levy and his transfer team made a wise decision by bringing in Udogie as the long-term answer to the team’s left-back dilemma, as Ryan Sessegnon was injured and Ivan Perisic was getting older and wasn’t thought to be the versatile star who could take the starting role.

The worth of Destiny Udogie’s market presently
With comments like “sickeningly good” and “gets into nearly every team in the world already” from footballJOE’s Hunter Godson, it’s evident that Tottenham has made a great investment on this rapidly developing jewel.

Udogie, who is still only 21 years old, was one of the best players in the first two weeks of the current Premier League season before he made a careless lunge at Raheem Sterling two weeks ago, giving Chelsea a two-man advantage and condemning Postecoglou to his first-ever loss in the top division of English football.

The Italian is among the top 18% of full-backs in Europe’s top five leagues for shot-creating actions, the top 19% for assists, the top 8% for progressive carries, and the top 7% for successful take-ons per ninety. These statistics are based on data from FBref.

After joining the Spurs team in the summer, Udogie has been outstanding. Journalist Carlo Garganese said that he has been “taking the best league in the world by storm.” He is clearly one of the most fascinating and progressive in his position right now.

Tottenham has become a formidable force in the top flight thanks in large part to the 6′ 2″ defender’s exploits. According to Sofascore, the £45k-per-week dynamo has made 2.7 tackles, 6.2 ball recoveries, and completed 88% of his passes in ten games this season. He has also bagged two assists.

The athletic defender’s market worth has skyrocketed, and CIES Football Observatory currently values him at €60 million (£52 million). This is not surprising.

For a player still in his prime, this is a 247% increase in value, and his current market value even eclipses the sum used to sign Maddison in the summer.

Why James Maddison was signed by Tottenham
Maddison’s departure was always likely following Leicester City’s Premier League relegation last season, since he had become one of English football’s most exceptional creators in recent years.

Spurs finalized a £40 million agreement in July to sign the 26-year-old, seemingly a coup for Postecoglou’s team and an exciting signing to help enhance the aspirations of rising back to prominence.

As the table shows, Maddison has continued to hone his craft while maintaining all of his fundamental creative qualities. At this point, he is on pace to equal the number of goals scored in the previous season and is playmaking at a much higher rate—roughly 33% more effective.

As demonstrated by the last several weeks, he has been utterly phenomenal, and the fact that he will be out until the new year poses a serious threat to Spurs’ hopes of upsetting the title battle.

Even though he serves as the offensive engine’s charger, the conductor during attacking transitions, and the team’s pivot, Udogie has been equally as great under Postecoglou’s direction. His absence against the Old Gold the previous game was felt greatly.The 20-year-old’s potential for improvement over the next few years is frightening, but his rapid rise is demonstrated by the fact that CIES Football Observatory already values him higher than Spurs spent for Maddison only a few months ago.