Tottenham Hotspur marauding fullback Destiny Udogie was surprisingly omitted from the latest Italy squad announced by the Italian Football Federation on Friday, November 10.

Udogie is not part of the 29 players selected by manager Luciano Spalletti for the 2024 European Championship qualifying matches against North Macedonia and Ukraine.

Assuming he was called up and played in both matches, the Verona native would have taken his senior caps for Italy to four, meaning he would no longer have been eligible to play for the Super Eagles. 

The Nigeria Football Federation are facing a difficult task to lure Udogie to the Super Eagles as the defender has repeatedly stated that his international future lies with Italy rather than Nigeria, whom he is eligible to represent through his parents.

Spalletti has dropped Udogie and handed a first-ever call-up to 2000-born Juventus left-back Andrea Cambiaso. 

The former Napoli manager has not yet clarified why the Italian-Nigerian youngster was omitted from the squad, and to make matters more complicated, he wasn't named on the Italy U21 roster. 

Since the end of the international break in October, Udogie has struggled with fitness problems and was sent off in his last outing for Tottenham against Chelsea. 

Ifeanyi Emmanuel 

Photo Credit: figc.it

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