Dan Carter

Tue 9 January 2024 15:10, UK

It’s safe to say that Tottenham Hotspur have got 2024 off to the perfect start under Ange Postecoglou as they booked their place in the FA Cup fourth round after an impressive festive period.

Spurs sit fifth in the Premier League and are very much in the race for the Champions League once again, now lying only a point behind North London rivals Arsenal in fourth and five points clear of West Ham United.

Some impressive individual displays have ensured that it has been a memorable first half of the season for Spurs supporters, but Destiny Udogie’s recent performances have stolen the show for Alan Shearer in the opening 20 games and the former Newcastle forward has named him in his team of the season so far.

Writing on the Premier League’s website (8 January) he said: “An exciting young player. His pace has been invaluable in Spurs’ high line and he has been effective going forward too.”

The 21-year-old has been “invaluable” to Postecoglou’s side so far this season and was once again impressive in Tottenham’s FA Cup third-round win over Burnley at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Friday 5 January.

Uodgie had 64 touches in the match and a huge amount of them were in the opposition’s final third as he tried to make Spurs’ possession count. Four of those touches came in Burnley’s box and three of his 29 completed passes were into the final third [Fotmob].

Few fullbacks in the Premier League see as much of the ball in the opposition’s third as Tottenham’s left-back. Over the first half of the season, he has placed in the 96th percentile of his peers for touches in the opponent’s box per 90 minutes, averaging 3.12 a match [Fbref].

Udogie rarely wastes possession either, producing a higher non-penalty xG per game than 88 per cent of the Premier League’s full-backs and picking more assists per game than 72 per cent of his positional peers.

Against Burnley, two of his three passes led to a chance for one of the Italian’s teammates. He was similarly workmanlike out of possession and didn’t shirk his defensive responsibilities just because he was getting up the pitch.

In his 90 minutes of action, the 21-year-old won seven duels, including 60 per cent of his aerial battles, made five ball recoveries and won two fouls without giving away a single free-kick himself.

The attacking side of the Tottenham defender’s game is what has earned him the majority of plaudits from supporters and pundits, but he has never been afraid to get stuck in without the ball. In Spurs’ last Premier League outing against Bournemouth, he won 100 per cent of his four ground duels.

Uodgie only places in the 56th percentile of his positional peers for tackles won per 90 minutes, making an average of 1.4 a game, but it’s where he manages to win the ball back that makes him stand out from the crowd.

The Spurs left-back enters more tackles in his defensive third than 79 per cent of fullbacks and more in the attacking third than 84 per cent. When he needs to intervene he can be incredibly effective and the stats reflect Postecglou’s rock and roll approach.

As Shearer suggested, without Udogie, Spurs wouldn’t be anywhere near as effective. He has been invaluable so far this season and keeping him fit and available is a must. It’s safe to say that he is now undroppable at Tottenham.

In other Tottenham news, Paul Robinson has been blown away by Emerson’s “fantastic” performances for Postecoglou’s side