Tottenham Hotspur beat Napoli to the signature of Italian-Nigerian defender 

Italian intermediary Stefano Antonelli, who handles the affairs of Italy U21 international of Nigerian descent Destiny Udogie, has revealed that Napoli were interested in signing the talented left-back prior to his move to Tottenham Hotspur. 

The Golden Boy nominee put himself in the shop window after a banner season on loan at Udinese, for whom he scored five goals while providing three assists in 35 appearances in the Serie A. 

In August, Udogie joined Tottenham Hotspur on a permanent deal for a fee in the region of 18 million euros and was immediately loaned to Udinese for the remainder of the season to continue his development. 

Antonelli admitted that the proposed transfer to Napoli would have materialized but it wasn't the right moment. 

Speaking to Radio Kiss Kiss via Football Italia, Antonelli stated : "This summer I went to Napoli’s training camp in Dimaro. On that occasion Giuntoli asked me for Udogie, but it was a difficult time. 

"There was a bit of sadness in the environment, we were navigating by sight, we didn’t know the real intentions of president De Laurentiis and there were a number of situations. 

"That wasn’t the right moment to close that negotiation, which at another time could absolutely have been concluded positively.”

Udogie has picked up where he left off last season with two goals in six starts for early season surprise package Udinese. 

There has been a lot of speculation surrounding his international future after he was omitted from the Italy squad for their UEFA Nations League matches with England and Hungary. 

Igho Kingsley 

Photo Credit : tottenhamhotspur.com

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