Lazar Samardzic reveals he was in talks with Juventus and Barcelona before joining Udinese and believes Destiny Udogie is ‘the best left-back in Serie A’ and will be an important player for Tottenham next season.
The Serbia international joined the Friulani from RB Leipzig in 2021 in a €3m deal.
“I’ve enjoyed these two years here a lot,” the 21-year-old told The Italian Football Podcast.
“It has been a pleasure to play here because this club is an amazing club. For me, the first year was not so good. I didn’t play so much but this year I have played much more and I have shown my quality.”
However, he could have joined Juventus or Barcelona before his transfer to Friuli.
“There was interest from both Barcelona and Juventus. It wasn’t really close. We spoke a bit, interest was there but it wasn’t close,” the midfielder revealed.
“My favourite team as a kid was Barcelona because of Leo Messi. He was my favourite player. I watched every game and saw him every game.
“I think everyone would like to be like Messi. But he is not human, he is unbelievable. But of course, I looked up to him. I also watched a lot of Kevin de Bruyne. I like how he plays.”
Samardzic’s teammate Udogie signed for Tottenham last summer but has remained out on loan at the Dacia Arena in 2022-23 and will move to North London in the summer: “Udogie is the best left-back in Serie A for me. He can do everything. I think he will be an important player for Tottenham next year. He is an amazing player,” said Samardzic.
Udogie, 20, will join Spurs in an €18m deal. He has three goals and four assists in 33 appearances this term.
Simone Pafundi is another exciting prospect playing at Udinese and is among Italy’s stars at the U20 World Cup: “He can become a top, top, top player,” argued Samardzic.
“He has so much quality. He needs a little patience but he has so much quality. He is an incredible player, he is young but he can do it.”
Samardzic has five goals and four assists in 38 appearances across all competitions this season and his contract at the Dacia Arena expires in June 2026.