Destiny Udogie Tottenham’s most-selected defender but worst performer among first-choice back four

TOTTENHAM continued their impressive start to the season with a 2-0 win over Fulham on Monday night.

Dream Team favourites Son Heung-min (£4.8m) and James Maddison (£4.3m) were both on the scoresheet on home soil but gaffers would have been disappointed by Destiny Udogie’s (£3m) premature exit.

PLAY SCORE PREDICTOR AHEAD OF THIS WEEKEND’S ACTION – SOMEBODY MUST WIN AN XBOX!

The energetic left-back was substituted before the hour mark, meaning he fell just short of the necessary minutes required to qualify for a clean sheet, not to mention his second appearance point.

Speaking after the game, Ange Postecoglou said: “Destiny just felt a bit of tightness at half-time. We said we’d give it 10-15 minutes so… once we got the second goal, it made sense to take him off.”

Udogie’s backers will be relieved that the 20-year-old was not hooked because he disappointed the Aussie tactician and it doesn’t sound as if his niggle is anything to worry about in the long run.

While his one-point haul in Gameweek 9 may have been something of a one-off, it’s simply a fact that the Italy international has fewer total points than the rest of Spurs’ first-choice back four.

TOTAL SEASON POINTS

• Cristian Romero (£3.7m) – 60pts
• Pedro Porro (£3.1m) – 55pts
• Micky van de Ven (£2.8m) – 53 pts
• Destiny Udogie (£3m) – 48 pts

There’s not much in it but Udogie is ranked fourth among his fellow regular starters, which is curious as he’s actually the most selected of the quartet among Dream Team managers.

DREAM TEAM OWNERSHIP

• Udogie – 9.3%
• Romero – 9.2%
• Van de Ven – 4.7%
• Porro – 4%

There’s a cigarette paper between Udogie and Romero in terms of popularity but the World Cup winner is now 12 points ahead of his team-mate in the rankings.

It’s worth repeating that Udogie is still a perfectly viable selection but gaffers should ensure they’re backing the correct Spurs defender if they decide upon such a strategy.

Postecoglou’s men are scheduled to play Crystal Palace in Gameweek 10 and will therefore be hopeful of another clean sheet.

Only Bournemouth have scored fewer goals than the Eagles in the Premier League so far this season and with Eberechi Eze (£3.6m) injured they’re even less potent in attack.

Assuming Udogie’s ‘tightness’ is nothing to worry about, he should enjoy himself against Roy Hodgson’s men but gaffers might consider a switch to Romero if possible.

The Argentine centre-back has earned ten bonus points this term, the fourth-best tally among defenders.

And of course, Dream Team bosses should be aware that Spurs assets don’t have European (or Carabao Cup) fixtures to bolster their schedule.

Not that Maddison or Son have been hindered so far.

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk