Ancelotti’s England scouting mission falls flat after key absences and Lille collapse

Carlo Ancelotti’s lengthy journey from France to London produced little of what he had hoped for as injuries, selection decisions and a late Lille collapse limited his chance to assess players during Tottenham’s meeting with Newcastle on Saturday.

The Italian, who previously won the Premier League with Chelsea, travelled to England alongside Roberto Mancini, the former Manchester City manager and Premier League champion, to watch the Tottenham-Newcastle fixture. The pair were also monitoring a number of players from the Italy and Brazil national teams.

Mancini was primarily interested in Newcastle midfielder Sandro Tonali, who started the match. Tottenham’s Destiny Udogie, another player under observation, began on the bench and was introduced as a substitute.

However, most of the Brazilian players expected to attract attention were absent. Richarlison, Savinho and Souza were not involved for Tottenham, while Newcastle midfielder Joelinton was also missing.

The absences meant Ancelotti was denied the opportunity to assess the players at close quarters, turning what had been a carefully planned scouting trip into a disappointing experience.

Savinho was unavailable because of injury, despite scoring on his Tottenham debut against Charlton. He had joined from Manchester City in a deal worth £85m. Joelinton was also ruled out through injury.

Richarlison did not feature as speculation continues over his future at Tottenham. Souza, meanwhile, remained outside the team’s plans and was behind Robertson and Udogie in the pecking order.

Ancelotti had made a significant effort to attend the match in London. He spent Friday evening in France watching his son Davide Ancelotti, Lille’s manager, take charge against Paris Saint-Germain before travelling on to London for Tottenham’s fixture with Newcastle.

That first part of the journey ended painfully for Ancelotti. Lille led 2-0 until stoppage time and appeared on course for an impressive victory, only for Vitinha to reduce the deficit in the 91st minute.

Marquinhos then equalised in the 95th minute, denying Davide Ancelotti’s side a win which had seemed within reach for most of the contest.

The Tottenham-Newcastle game offered only limited consolation. Sweden international Anthony Elanga scored in the 60th minute to put Newcastle ahead and give the visitors a renewed advantage.

Yet the match did not provide Ancelotti or Mancini with the broad viewing opportunity they had anticipated. Tonali was present from the start and Udogie eventually appeared for Tottenham, but the majority of the players who had prompted the journey were unavailable.

For Ancelotti, the England visit therefore followed a frustrating night in France and ended without the detailed evaluation of Brazil and Italy prospects that had been planned.