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Peter Akinbo
Destiny Udogie has said it’s a “dream come true” to join Tottenham Hotspur as he becomes the North London side’s seventh summer signing, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
The 19-year-old defender was heavily linked with a move to the Premier League and has now penned a five-year deal with the Lilywhites.
PUNCH Sports Extra reported earlier this month that Tottenham had agreed personal terms with Udogie. And, on Monday, it was understood that a deal would cost around £15m, with a potential extra £3m in add-ons.
Udogie was at Hotspur Way on Monday to undergo a medical and finalise the deal before heading back to Udinese for training on Tuesday. He has since returned to England for the official unveiling.
An excited Udogie, while speaking with the media team at Spurs, explained what it meant to have joined Antonio Conte’s side, and how his family played a role in the move.
“It is a big honour for me to be here in this big team, a big club with a big history,” he said. “I always knew football was inside me. It was always my dream since a child. I started when I was four years old. I lived in Verona – 20 minutes from the centre.
“My family is there with me. My family is everything because I ask them a lot of questions, they help me a lot, and they’re always with me. All of them are very close to me and important to me. My father, he always pushed me a lot to be focused and serious on the game and I think this helped me a lot. When I see my friends play, going out, I prefer to stay home and relax for the training,” the defender said.
Udogie spoke on Spurs playing personnel he already knew from Serie A and what it meant to play under Conte.
“I think it will be helpful because they (Ivan Perisic, Dejan Kulusevski, Rodrigo Bentancur) played in Serie A as well, so it’s going to be more easy for me to enter to the group.
“It is an honour for me to play under a big coach like Antonio Conte. I think he knows the football very well and I’m going to grow a lot with him. I think the Premier League is the biggest league in the world.
The most difficult and I like challenges, difficult challenges so I’m excited to start and, for me also playing for Tottenham as well – a big team – I think it’s a big dream come true.”