The agent of Tottenham Hotspur star Destiny Udogie has claimed that all the major Italian clubs wanted his client, but lacked the courage to invest in a talented young Italian like him.

Spurs signed Udogie last year from Udinese before letting him spend one more season with the Serie A club on loan.

The left-back has caught the eye this season under new Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou and has made ten Premier League appearances already.

Spurs are pleased with the investment coming off but Stefano Antonelli, the player's agent, admitted that before moving to Udinese, every major Italian club wanted Udogie.

He insisted that only Udinese showed the courage to invest in him and reaped the reward by selling for almost ten times the fee they paid for him a little less than a year later.

Antonelli claimed that the big clubs in Italy lack the courage to invest money in young Italian players.

He told Italian outlet Tutto Mercato: "If there is a limit that Italian clubs still cannot overcome, it is the courage to invest.

"I invite anyone and I challenge anyone to tell me which club didn't want Udogie.

"They all wanted him but at that stage, only Gino Pozzo thought it was appropriate to accelerate with Udinese.

"He took him for EUR2.

8m and ten months later, sold him for EUR26m.

"Now with what he has been doing, he doesn't have a defined price anymore but we spoke with Juventus, Milan and Inter.

"Everyone liked Destiny, everyone wanted him but at that moment none of them had the impetus to do a deal.

"We don't invest in Italians, it's a cliche that also happened with Udogie.

"If Udogie continues to impress, he is likely to be beyond the financial reach of most Italian clubs in the coming years.

.