Antoine Semenyo names Spurs star as toughest Premier League opponent

Bournemouth forward, Antoine Semenyo, was asked to name the toughest opponent he has faced in the Premier League this season – his answer may surprise even Spurs fans.

Destiny Udogie has struggled at Spurs this season

Destiny Udogie was tipped to become a key player under Antonio Conte in the wing-back role. However, by the time Udogie made his first appearance for Spurs, after spending a season on loan at his former club, Udinese, Ange Postecoglou was the new man in charge.

Yet this did not hinder Udogie, who quickly became an important player for Tottenham. The Italian’s solid defending and attacking contributions, which included two goals and three assists, saw him shortlisted for the Premier League Young Player of the Season award.

The current season, however, is a different story. Udogie’s only goal contribution is a single assist and he has looked less comfortable performing his defensive duties.

Also, with Djed Spence impressing at left-back, Udogie could face competition when he returns to the Tottenham first-team squad once he has recovered from his hamstring injury.

Antoine Semenyo names Spurs’ Destiny Udogie as his toughest Premier League opponent

Udogie has received unlikely praise, despite a largely difficult season so far, with Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo naming him as the toughest player he has faced during the current Premier League campaign.

Appearing on the Ball Talk podcast, Semenyo was asked who the toughest defender he has faced was and he replied: “I think Destiny Udogie of Tottenham. He was definitely the hardest one I played, he was so up and down.

“The way Tottenham play as well, they’re quite similar to us in terms of running, they work hard and run a lot. So he took me backwards, forwards and sideways and it was tough.”

Although Spurs suffered a 1-0 defeat when they played Bournemouth in December, Destiny Udogie had an encouraging individual performance.

He won 13 of his 16 overall duels, made six tackles and maintained a pass accuracy of 90 per cent during the match. The 22-year-old was involved throughout the game and recorded 78 touches.

What does the future hold for Destiny Udogie at Tottenham?

With Spurs currently sitting 14th in the Premier League table, any player coming back from injury will be a welcome return. However, Spence has stepped up and performed well on his less familiar side of the pitch, while Sergio Reguilon has looked lively for a player with such little match time this season.

If Udogie is to slot back into the first team, he needs to replicate his earlier form at Tottenham and show that he can be a consistent and reliable player in the long term.

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