‘One of the reasons’: Gary Lineker says Tottenham’s season collapsed because their £15m player got injured
Gary Lineker has a hypothesis on why Tottenham Hotspur had a poor finish to the season.
Spurs were once in prime position to finish in the top four. Champions League qualifying seemed to be within their grasp, but things did not go their way in the last two months of the season.
Tottenham won only two of their last seven Premier League games, finishing fifth, three points ahead of Chelsea.
Destiny Udogie joined Tottenham from Udinese in the summer of 2022 for a reported £15 million (BBC).
The Italian spent the season on loan there and excelled. He joined Tottenham at the start of the 2023/24 season and drew Ange Postecoglou’s attention.
The Spurs manager named Udogie his first-choice left-back, and he began the season in spectacular fashion. He wowed everyone with his talents.
Udogie was Tottenham’s regular left full-back, and the team suffered while he was sidelined in the early part of the season.
Tottenham won only two games without him from that point on, finishing fifth and losing out on a Champions League spot for next season.
Lineker chose Udogie to his Team of the Season, and he feels the Italian’s injury was one of the reasons Spurs fell so poorly in the last weeks of the season.
He said on The Rest is Football podcast, “I’m actually going to go with Destiny Udogie.” Despite his recent injury, he stands out among the left-backs.
“I think he’s the best Italian player around right now.” I believe the injury he sustained was one of the reasons Spurs’ performance dipped. It’s a pity he won’t be attending the Euros as well.”
Tottenham’s statistics sans Udogie will shock you.
Everyone knew Destiny Udogie had a big talent, but no one anticipated him to make such an impact at Tottenham in his first season.
The Italy international made 30 appearances for Spurs in all competitions and was always excellent. However, the North Londoners ran into trouble when he was missing for games.
Tottenham played 11 games without Udogie this season and won only four of them. Three of the four wins were decided by one goal.
Spurs scored 15 goals and surrendered 21 in his absence, a terrible figure.
This not only demonstrates how vital Udogie is to Tottenham, but it also shows Postecoglou how crucial it is to acquire a new left-back this summer.
Support us by Donating
[wpedon id=”13152″ align=”left”]
Read Also: Spurs looking at signing £30m ex-Chelsea flop, hes a sensationalWerner upgrade
Read Also: Madness Alan Shearer cannot believe what Tottenham are about to do after breaking news
Read Also: Tottenham Expert shares Micky van de Ven exit verdict amid £120m+ transfer claim