Tottenham Hotspur’s new manager, Enzi Postecoglou, is different from his predecessor, Antonio Conte, in every way. Not the least of which is mercenariness. Postecoglou has taken chances on players that Conte completely ignored and realized their potential.
The Express, a British newspaper, reported on April 18, “Tottenham’s Postecoglou has unleashed a secret weapon that Conte denied him. Postecoglou has reaped the rewards of Conte’s signings“.
The protagonist is left fullback Destiny Udogie, 21. Tottenham signed Udogie, an Italian prospect from Serie A’s Udinese Calcio, ahead of the 2022-2023 season for a relatively modest fee of £21 million.
However, Conte did not include Udogie in his plans. He was pushed aside in favor of Ivan Perisic, Emerson Royal, Ryan Sessegnon, Ben Davies, Pedro Foro, Sergio Reguillon, and Matt Doherty. Udogie was loaned back to his parent club Udinese shortly after his arrival.
Postecoglou, who took over as Spurs manager ahead of the season, recalled Udogie. Udogie lived up to expectations and broke into the first team.
‘Udogie’s attacking prowess has already shone through in his five games in a Tottenham shirt,’ says the Express. He recorded back-to-back assists against Bournemouth and Burnley. He is quickly building a reputation as one of the most exciting young left-backs in Europe.
Wing-backs were key to Conte’s tactics, and his failure to recognize this resource is worth hitting the ground and regretting.
As the Express put it, ‘Conte doesn’t give young stars a chance. Even if Udogie had been at Tottenham, he might not have played much.
In addition to Udogie, central midfielder Yves Bissouma also saw the light under the new manager. Conte didn’t use him much either. Postecoglou deployed Bissouma, James Maddison, and Pape 사설토토 in the middle. ‘Bissouma seemed to disappear under Conte last season,’ says the Express. Postecoglou has woken him up. There is something special about him’.
Only Son Heung-min, Dejan Kluczewski and Cristian Romero remain in the best 11 in Conte’s system.