Tottenham are currently blessed with one of Europe's best left-backs, and no, I'm not referring to the once-outstanding Andy Robertson entering his twilight.
The former Liverpool stalwart joined the club as a free agent in the summer, having come close to arriving in January. Robertson's signing divided the fanbase, with those in favour pointing towards the Scot's intangibles and those against taming expectations given the left-back's body of work over the past couple of years.
He's certainly lost a step, and in truth, the 32-year-old has been more of a hindrance than a help on the field at the start of his Spurs career. Still, Robertson is an easy character to admire, and his blossoming friendship with fellow old head Ben Davies has been one of the wholesome subplots of the season so far.
And Roberto De Zerbi will continue to call upon him, even with an outstanding first choice atop the pecking order. Why? Well, as superb as Destiny Udogie is when fit and firing, the Italian's injury woes have a knack for undermining a majestic groove.
We can only hope the bug stays away from Udogie moving forward.
Destiny Udogie's fitness is a crucial sub-plot in Tottenham's season
De Zerbi has been forced to carefully manage Udogie's minutes so far this term, and he again didn't complete 90 minutes on Saturday. He was withdrawn after Bryan Mbeumo's opener, with Micky van de Ven proving that he can offer an alternative solution when Robertson's not available, which was the case in Manchester.
Udogie was excellent at Old Trafford. It was the sort of performance we grew familiar with at the start of Ange Postecoglou's tenure—those utopian opening 10 games.
The Italian is such an imposing figure who can overwhelm attackers physically and surge gloriously when he has the ball. He's a clever runner in the final third, but also combines well with teammates. I thought he was brilliant in the Carabao Cup defeat to Liverpool, and this showing was of a similar ilk.
It just feels like he's a sustained run of form away from once again being recognised by the masses, not that it matters. We're the only folk who'll enjoy the fruits of his labour, and thus need to appreciate him.
Whether he can stay fit is the million-dollar question. Since his arrival, Udogie has suffered 11 different injuries and missed 46 matches for club and country, per Transfermarkt. We can only hope that De Zerbi's cautious management, encouraged by an overhauled medical team, aids Udogie in the long run.
It's night and day between a purring Udogie and his veteran reserve.
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