Manchester City have already embarked on a squad rebuild and things are likely to pick up even more pace in the summer transfer window.
The likes of Abdukodir Khusanov, Nico Gonzalez, Omar Marmoush and Vitor Reis have all arrived at Manchester City in recent months.
Now, Fabrizio Romano has reported that City are looking for a new full-back and Tottenham Hotspur’s Destiny Udogie is a target.
Romano revealed that Hugo Viana “appreciates” the Italian international and has been tracking him since his time at Udinese.
Guardiola has already spoken about Udogie in recent months, making a comment about him while also discussing fellow Spurs full-back Djed Spence.
Pep Guardiola joked that Destiny Udogie and Djed Spence ‘run too much’
In February, City took on Tottenham in the Premier League and beat them 1-0, after which Guardiola was spotted speaking to Spence and giving him a playful slap.
Asked what he said to Spence after his side’s win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Guardiola said, as per talkSPORT: “‘Why do you run too much? You should be more calm’.
“Udogie is quite similar, the pace of this team is difficult to… Maybe Liverpool, but they are unbelievable, unbearable. Every time they have the ball and run, they’re unstoppable.
“Spence, Pedro Porro, Udogie, [Dejan] Kulusevski, [Heung-min] Son. It’s an incredibly physical team with a clear idea, they play really good.
“They played without [Cristian] Romeo and [Micky] van de Ven; two of the best central defenders in the league…”
How Destiny Udogie fared in his Manchester City ‘audition’
Udogie delivered a solid display against City when the two teams last locked horns, the type of performance some might say constitutes a good ‘audition’.
The Italy international clocked up some impressive stats on the day, including nine ground duels won out of 12 contests, seven tackles, and all but one of his passes finding the target.
| Destiny Udogie stats in Spurs loss to Man City on 26/2/25 | |
| Minutes played | 67′ |
| Clearances | 1 |
| Total tackles | 7 |
| Dribbled past | 0 |
| Ground duels (won) | 12 (9) |
| Touches | 53 |
| Accurate passes | 36/37 (97%) |
Admittedly, this could be a difficult signing to get over the line for City.
Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy has a reputation for being a tough negotiator, and losing a player like Udogie to a Premier League rival wouldn’t go down well among Spurs fans who feel they should aspire to be at City’s levels.
However, should Tottenham fail to win the Europa League and make it into Europe next season, their players may well start thinking about their futures.
In that case, the prospect of leaving Tottenham and getting City back to the levels they’ve been at all these years could well appeal.
