A key figure in Tottenham Hotspur's resurgence this season under Ange Postecoglou has been promising defender, Destiny Udogie, with the 20-year-old having slotted in smoothly at N17 after spending last season back on loan at Udinese.
Having originally been signed on a £15m deal from the Serie A side in 2022, it had been a frustrating wait for Spurs supporters to see the Italian in action, although that patience has paid off with the left-back now flourishing for the Premier League high-flyers.
Described as "sickeningly good" by footballJOE's Hunter Godson, the Verona native has already recorded two assists from nine league games so far this term, while also averaging an impressive 2.8 tackles per game – third in the squad behind only Pedro Porro and Yves Bissouma for that latter metric.
Seemingly a player who "has it all", in the words of national team boss, Luciano Spalletti, the two-cap international is rightly earning hefty praise at present, hence the potential concern over his relatively early withdrawal against Fulham on Monday night.
As Postecoglou subsequently stated, Udogie was only substituted due to possible fatigue and "tightness", yet it does expose the need for a reliable understudy to the youngster in that left-sided berth.
The possible replacements for Destiny Udogie at left-back
In that 2-0 win earlier this week, the 6 foot 2 maestro was replaced by Emerson Royal for the final half hour or so, albeit with the Brazilian hardly the most natural solution in that role as the right-footer typically lines up on the opposite side.
The Lilywhites do have the versatile Micky van de Ven who can slot into that full-back berth if required, although it would seemingly make little sense to shift the towering Dutchman across, particularly with senior alternatives at centre-back so limited.
The standout replacement for Udogie would seemingly be long-serving stalwart, Ben Davies, with the experienced Welshman comfortable operating at full-back, wing-back or on the left of a back three, having proven a useful squad option over the years with over 300 appearances for the club to date.
That being said, the 30-year-old did struggle in a rare outing against the Cottagers in the Carabao Cup back in August, with 90min's Tom Gott writing that his 'limited technical ability clearly hamstrung Tottenham', while talkSPORT's Gabby Agbonlahor stated post-match that he is simply "not good enough any more".
With that in mind, Postecoglou may wish to consider a player who is currently thriving in the academy set-up in the form of Charlie Sayers, with the 19-year-old certainly one to keep an eye on.
A look at Tottenham's academy sensation, Charlie Sayers
While also comfortable at centre-back, the teenager has largely operated in a left-back berth so far this season both at Premier League 2 level and in the EFL Trophy, notably starting in the 5-0 thrashing of Colchester United in the latter competition.
That outing saw the young Englishman showcase his impressive quality on the ball after enjoying a solid 89% pass accuracy rate from his 92 touches, while also completing four of his eight attempted long balls and creating one big chance.
The youngster has also enjoyed prior experience at senior level during his time at former club Southend United – for whom he made six first-team appearances – having been lavished with praise by manager Phil Brown at the time:
"I think Charlie Sayers has been outstanding and you have to say he has a career ahead of him, there’s no doubt about it."
Having been pushing to be the "first choice left-back" at Roots Hall, Sayers has since gone on to impress after joining Spurs in 2021, with respected insider John Wenham describing him as arguably the "best academy defender at the club".
The next step now will be for the high-potential talent to live up to the billing by making his mark at first-team level, with any potential absence for Udogie in the coming weeks or months potentially set to be his route into Postecoglou's plans, ahead of Davies.
