Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou may have already hinted at who he will choose to replace Destiny Udogie in Friday’s clash with Crystal Palace.
The Italian defender was withdrawn after 55 minutes in north London on Monday evening after complaining of some tightness at half-time. The 20-year-old defender has so far played in every one of Spurs’ Premier League matches this season.
His electric pace and keen eye for a pass are just two attributes that have continued to see Postecoglou select the defender as part of a new-look backline. But with tomorrow’s outing perhaps coming a little too soon for the former Udinese man, chances are his manager will have to look elsewhere.
“Destiny just felt a bit of tightness at half-time. We said we’d give it 10-15 minutes so with a short turn-around, once we got the second goal, it made sense to take him off,” said the Spurs boss following the full-time whilst against Fulham earlier this week.
Emerson Royal is most likely to step into the fold to make only his second Premier League start of the season, given he was brought on to replace the Italian international just before the hour mark against Marco Silva’s side.
Despite scoring in the 2-2 draw with Brentford on the opening day of the season, the former Barcelona man has seen his chances limited. Having scored the equaliser at the Gtech Community Stadium, he remained an unused sub in Tottenham’s clashes with Bournemouth, Arsenal and Liverpool.
Bidding to extend their unbeaten run to 10 games in the Premier League, Spurs will hope to add to Crystal Palace’s early season woes that has seen them win just three of their opening nine matches. Influential midfielder Michael Olise has recently returned to training, but Palace will not be able to count on him or Eberechi Eze for the clash on Friday night.
