Gary Lineker claims absence of Tottenham player responsible for club’s collapse
Tottenham started the season in convincing fashion when they won eight games out of their first ten.
New manager Ange Postecoglou straight away made an impression after getting the job.
When it looked like Harry Kane’s departure would trouble the North London club, their form in the earlier part of the season proved that notion wrong.
However, as the season progressed, they started falling down in the Premier League table and finished in fifth position to end the season.
They missed out on Champions League qualification by just two points after winning only two of their last seven games of the season.
Their season slipped out of their hands in the last couple of months and it coincided with the injury to left-back Destiny Udogie.
The defender joined the Premier League club from Udinese in the summer of 2022 for an initial fee of £15 million (BBC).
He caught the eye of Postecoglou before the start of this season and the new manager made him the first choice left-back at the club.
His performances caught the eye of the fans and he quickly became a crucial member of the starting line up.
However, an injury suffered in April meant that he missed the final stage of the season, just when the Spurs season started to collapse.
Gary Lineker named the Italian in his Team of the Season and stated that the team’s collapse started when he got injured.
He said on The Rest is Football podcast: “I’m actually going to go with Destiny Udogie. I know he has been injured over the last month or so but I think out of all the left-backs…
“I think he’s probably the best Italian player around at the moment. I think he is one of the reasons that Spurs kind of tailed off a little bit, that injury he got. It’s a real shame that he won’t be at the Euros as well.”
Tottenham missed Udogie after his injury
There was no doubt about the talent of Udogie but the way he settled at the club and started performing straight away is a sign of promising player.
Tottenham played 11 matches without the defender and only managed to win four of them.
His importance to the team is understated and Postecoglou will be hoping to get him back to full fitness before the start of next season.
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