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Udinese manager Andrea Sottil is surprised Italian defender of Nigerian descent Destiny Udogie is not in Roberto Mancini’s Italy squad for their UEFA Nations League fixtures.
Mancini had invited 29 players for the clashes against England and Hungary, but snubbed left-back Udogie, picking Federico Dimarco (Inter Milan) and Emerson Palmieri(West Ham)instead.
“These decisions surprised me. I respect Roberto Mancini’s choices, but I was still surprised. I think Udogie is one of the best full-backs in the league, he proves that all the time,” Sottil told Football Italia.
The 19-year-old played 79 minutes for Udinese on Sunday in their 3-1 home win against Inter Milan, a result which took the club to third place in Serie A.
On the back of his breakthrough season in 2021/22, Tottenham snapped up Udogie in the summer for an initial £15.5m plus £6m in add-ons before sending the youngster back to Udinese on a season-long loan.
An Italy U-21 international, Udogie made his debut for the Gli Azzurrini in September last year, in a European Championship qualifying fixture against Luxembourg. He has four caps at youth level to his name till date but is still eligible to represent Nigeria, the country of his father, following the latest snub by Mancini.
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