Tottenham: Nemanja Vidic doesn’t like what he saw from Destiny Udogie v Nottingham Forest
Nemanja Vidic criticised Tottenham full-back Destiny Udogie for his part in the goal scored by Nottingham Forest in Sunday’s (8 April) contest.
Spurs were 3-1 winners in North London thanks to an improved second-half performance, but they were fortunate not to go into half-time behind.
Chris Wood equalised for Forest just before the half-hour mark with a sweeping finish after Anthony Elanga was played in behind down the visitors’ right.
Tottenham overcome Nottingham Forest 3-1
Tottenham’s backline was completely exposed, but former Manchester United defender Vidic felt it could have been avoided.
“I think [Udogie] should hold the line,” Vidic told Premier League Productions [7 April]. “He is too far to press the ball.
“Then he puts the other defenders in a difficult position as well. I think the positioning of the four players at the back wasn’t good enough.
“Sometimes, by talking, you can solve this situation. I think any central defender should tell him ‘hold your run, you are not ready to press’.”
Udogie and fellow full-back Pedro Porro can often be caught out of position, but that is simply a drawback of Ange Postecoglou’s playing style.
What position does Destiny Udogie play?
The Italy international did not cover himself in glory defensively against Forest, as he completed just one defensive action in his left-back role [WhoScored].
That consists of one clearance, zero tackles, zero interceptions and zero blocked shots. For context, Porro registered five defensive actions.
Furthermore, as per Sofascore, Udogie won just three of his eight duels against the Reds – a 37.5-per-cent success rate.
Going back to that previous point, though, Udogie helps makes this Spurs team what it is thanks to his attacking abilities.
The 21-year-old registered one key pass and one dribble, while his 45 passes were bettered by only five others in the Tottenham side.
Indeed, Udogie’s 85.4 per cent pass-completion success ranks him in the top 10 per cent of all full-backs in Europe’s top five leagues [FBref].
Postecoglou will accept the dangers that come from asking Udogie to play further up the field, but certain aspects can certainly be worked on, and he can step in at any moment.
For example, he averages 1.7 unsuccessful touches per game, which is third behind only Richarlison (1.8) and Dejan Kulusevski (2.5).
If Udogie can iron out certain problems and continue to thrive in other areas, he can go on to become one of the best specialist full-backs around.
In other Tottenham news, a player who started against Forest is now surely in line to be dropped for the Newcastle United match.
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