Stefano Antonelli, who looks after Destiny Udogie, has revealed that the Tottenham Hotspur defender is eager to make his debut for Italy’s senior national team.
Udogie received his first ever call-up to the Italy national team for their upcoming 2024 European Championship qualifying matches against Malta and England.
The left-back is an U21 player and for this reason, the Verona native will not be cap-tied to his country of birth if he participates in the two competitive games this month.
Udogie was acquired by Tottenham Hotspur in August 2022 and was immediately loaned back to Udinese to continue his development.
The Italian-Nigerian fullback has become an indispensable player for Tottenham, so much so that he has started all the matches played by the club in this season’s Premier League.
Having played for every Italy age-group side between U16 and U21, Udogie has chosen to represent the four-time world champions at senior level and could become cap-tied to his country of birth in November 2023.
Reacting to Udogie’s call-up, Antonelli said to SportItalia : “The football critics were waiting for his call-up as if he were almost an obvious consequence.
“Here, however, there is nothing obvious: when you reach the national team, you also reach the peak of your ambitions and objectives.
“It is an important goal, he knows who Spalletti is and he knows what the way is of the coach. He can’t wait to be able to represent Italy.
“With all the calm of the case, now that he has arrived there he will have to prove that he deserves it.”
Prior to receiving his first senior call-up, Udogie made 86 appearances combined for Hellas Verona, Udinese and Tottenham.
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