With pre-season now in full swing at Tottenham Hotspur, there will no doubt be those paying close attention to which players are handed a prominent role by new boss Ange Postecoglou over the coming weeks, ahead of potentially nailing down a regular starting berth next season.
Among those likely to be sparking excitement among supporters is promising full-back, Destiny Udogie, with the 20-year-old finally in place in north London after having spent last season back on loan at Udinese.
The Italy international – who was snapped up by Daniel Levy on a £15m deal last summer – has arrived at N17 off the back of a stellar season in Serie A last time out, with the 6 foot 2 defender having chipped in with seven goal involvements in 33 league games from his wing-back berth.
Having been "on fire" last term – according to talent scout Jacek Kulig – the hope will be that the youngster can replicate such form in the Premier League, with the chance for him to compete with the likes of Ben Davies for a starting role at left-back.
Udogie may not be the only previously out-on-loan player who could be handed a strong chance to impress this summer, with journalist Paul Brown stating that there could potentially be a way back for Tanguy Ndombele at Spurs, despite holding possible reservations over whether the Frenchman can put his prior woes behind him.
Speaking in an interview with Football FanCast, Brown stated:
"I'm pretty sure that Postecoglou is going to want to take a good look at Ndombele. He's obviously a huge talent. I just felt that a series of managers there never really felt they could trust him and he kind of proved them right every time he was given a chance, unfortunately.
"He is someone who occasionally will come up with a brilliant piece of skill, but I'm not entirely sure he was ever totally suited to playing Premier League football, if I'm being brutally honest. And I think it's going to be a long, hard road back for him at Spurs."
What is Ndombele's market value?
Having been signed from Lyon for a reported fee of around £63m back in 2019, the 5 foot 11 enigma has endured a rocky time of it at Tottenham so far, having notably spent the last 18 months out on loan as a marker of his slide down the pecking order.
Once branded a "disgrace" by Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher due to his lack of work ethic in his early days in English football, the £200k-per-week playmaker repeatedly drew the ire of former boss Jose Mourinho, with the likes of Nuno Espirito Santo and Antonio Conte having also hardly giving him a look in.
With just ten goals and nine assists to his name in 91 appearances for the club to date, it is fair to say that Tottenham have not received value for money from the mercurial talent to date, albeit with recent reports suggesting that Postecoglou instructed the club to reject a €20m (£17m) bid from Napoli for the midfielder, after having spent the 2022/23 campaign on loan with the Italian champions.
The ex-Celtic boss has publicly stated that a permanent recall could be on the cards for Ndombele with the seven-cap ace currently "working hard" in pre-season, albeit while not going as far as to suggest that the £13m-rated man would definitely be part of the first-team squad moving forward.
If Postecoglou is to give the fleet-footed gem a shot at redemption it could prove to be a wise move, with – as Brown stated – the player undoubtedly a 'huge talent', hence why Levy splashed the cash on him in the first place.
That is the view of Arsenal-bound midfielder, Declan Rice, at least, with the Englishman having previously lauded his Spurs counterpart as a "top player", while also describing him as a "street footballer", due to his unique, instinctive style.
As such, while with the likes of Udogie it is the chance to make a strong first impression next term, for Ndombele, he could well have warranted one last opportunity to prove his talents at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in 2023/24.
