Destiny Udogie is proving to be a fan favourite at Tottenham Hotspur as he continues to rise under the stewardship of Ange Postecoglou.
The all-action Spurs left-back hasn’t done many things wrong since breaking into the first-team this season.
But during Tottenham’s 2-2 draw against Manchester United on Sunday at Old Trafford, he nearly did the unthinkable of putting the ball into the back of the net.
Peter Schmeichel reacted to that heart-in-the-mouth moment from Destiny Udogie and how it was ‘incredible’, as he told Premier League Productions (14/01/24 at 5:30 pm).
As the ball was whipped in from Manchester United’s left flank, Destiny Udogie, with no one around him, attempted to clear the ball.
But because of the pace of the ball, the £15 million signing found it difficult to direct the ball away from danger or even slowly cushion it to Guglielmo Vicario in between the sticks.
In the end, the ball thundered off the post, to the relief of the player himself, his teammates and the Tottenham fans.
If that ball had gone in, then it really would have changed the direction of the match because, while the away side secured a point, based on their performance, they deserved the win.
Destiny Udogie’s near-own goal
“This is just incredible and it nearly went in,” said Schmeichel. “I don’t know whether he is confused.”
Fantastic performance AGAIN from Destiny Udogie
Manchester United may have suffered many problems this season, but one shining light for them has been their thriving teenager, Alejandro Garnacho.
It was a really good battle out wide between the two, and in truth, the Spurs man came out on top.
Even though Udogie plays like a number ten and is pushing very high up the pitch, it means that he is leaving a lot of space behind, so there is a lot of running back.
Despite all of that, he still managed to deal with Garnacho’s threat and produce yet another fantastic performance for his Champions League-chasing side.