“He’s outstanding” – Juventus-linked star applauds out-of-favour Super Eagles forward

The two players of Nigerian descent were influential in helping Udinese claim a fine draw at Bologna

Italy youth international Iyenoma Destiny Udogie is full of praise for Udinese teammate and Nigeria international Isaac Success after both were on the scoresheet for the Little Zebras on Sunday.

Udogie and Success scored the goals as Udinese went to the Stadio Renato Dell’Ara to play out a thrilling 2-2 draw with Bologna.

Success did well to combine with Gerard Deulofeu before setting up Udogie for Udinese’s equaliser in the 25th minute after Aaron Hickey had put the hosts ahead in the sixth minute.

The Super Eagles star, who last played for Nigeria in 2018, then made it 2-1 for Udinese shortly after the break, following good work from Deulofeu. But Nicola Sansone’s effort on the hour-mark denied Success and his teammates all the three points.

Still, Success can be proud of his performances in recent weeks, having contributed a goal and four assists in his last five games.

Overall, the 26-year-old has two goals and seven assists in 20 Serie A appearances since his switch from Watford last summer.

And Success’s brilliant displays have drawn out applause from Udogie, who also has Nigerian roots.

“Playing with Isaac (Success) is very interesting,” Udogie told Mundo Udinese.

“He is outstanding and knows how to play very intelligently. Mainly from the wings, and he facilitates a lot of situations with his plays.”

Udogie, who is on loan from Hellas Verona, himself is enjoying a fantastic season at Udinese, with his goal against Bologna his third of the campaign.

The young defender credits Udinese coach Gabriele Cioffi for giving him the freedom to attack the opponents’ danger area even from his left-back position.

Udogie also appreciates the input of Success and Deulofeu in improving his attacking output.

“Surely, the coach asks us and in fact, we want to be present as much as possible in the area,” Udogie added.

“The coach said to recognize the spaces. The hardest thing was done by Isaac and Gerry (Deulofeu), who put me in front of the goal and then I just had to score.”

Udogie’s fine Serie A performances have also attracted the interest of Italian giants Juventus, with a deal being mooted in the summer.