Fabio Paratici has had a great deal of success in the transfer market since arriving at Tottenham.
The Italian has thrived in his new role and alongside Antonio Conte, Daniel Levy has formed a super team that looks like threatening the elite of the Premier League.
While it might be a step too far to suggest Spurs could challenge for the title this term, they do look like one of the most likely teams to threaten Manchester City in 2022/23, something that has been brought about by Paratici and Conte.
The Italian duo have carved out a more bullish style in recent months with Harry Kane spearheading a team that currently look nailed on for a top-four place.
Tottenham perhaps haven’t been at their best this season but it feels only a matter of time before they truly kick into gear.
Last season they snatched Champions League football away from their arch-rivals, Arsenal, largely thanks to Paratici’s first few additions in Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski. The latter, in particular, has been a breath of fresh air with six goals and 11 assists in 29 outings for the Lilywhites.
His loan move is set to become a permanent deal in the near future, a decision that will lock down the right-hand side of Tottenham’s team for many a year. Yet, there is a player who Paratici has brought to north London that has rather gone under the radar.
The player in question is Destiny Udogie, someone who could lock down the left-hand side of the Spurs side.
The talented 19-year-old joined in the summer for an initial fee of £15m, potentially rising to £20m, before he was loaned back to Udinese in Serie A.
He has been a rampant force in Italy, producing performances that bear similarities to a certain Gareth Bale.
Indeed, that’s because Udogie has been playing at left wing-back, demonstrating qualities that a young and rampant Bale once did at Tottenham.
The Welshman initially broke through at left-back before becoming an electrifying forward and one of the most expensive footballers ever.
Playing as a full-back in 2009/10, the flying Wales international only scored three times but registered an eye-catching 11 assists before truly exploding the following campaign, scoring 11 times and supplying ten assists in a more offensive position on the left flank.
It’s a career progression that rather mirrors that of the young Udogie, with the Italian finding the net on five occasions last season while racking up three assists from a combination of left-back and left midfield.
In his eight appearances to date in 2022/23, he has been “on fire” in the words of talent scout Jacek Kulig, with the teenager playing slightly further forward and scoring twice so far. Those numbers aren’t jaw-dropping by any stretch of the imagination but his ability to influence play from the left-hand side is scarily similar to Bale.
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That can be rubberstamped courtesy of some eye-catching statistics, with the Spurs loanee ranking in the best 7% of players in his position across Europe’s top five leagues for shots on target per 90 minutes.
Udogie also ranks in the top 14% for goal-creating actions over the last 365 days, while also ranking in the best 11% for touches in the attacking penalty area. He is also in the best 9% of players for carries into the opposition’s 18-yard box and to wrap things up, sits in the top 17% for dribbles attempted.
Those numbers are seriously impressive and only go to illustrate the Bale-like qualities that the teen possesses.
Just whether he’ll go on to become an £85m player remains to be seen but the “tenacious” talent – as dubbed by Kulig – certainly has the world at his feet.