Reports: Tottenham Hotspur agree personal terms with Radu Dragusin
It’s a happy ending to 2023 for the Tottenham Hotspur fraternity, as the club have topped their 3-1 win over AFC Bournemouth with an all-but confirmed transfer of Romanian center back Radu Dragusin.
As per the latest news from transfer specialist Fabrizio Romano, Spurs have agreed personal terms with the Genoa star as they hunt the market for a central defender.
It’s understood that was never a problem as far as Tottenham and the player were concerned, as from the moment initial talks were held, Dragusin was keen to join the North Londoners.
Ange Postecoglou has been forced to field four full backs in his starting line-up in recent games, on the back of which Spurs shipped four goals at Brighton and Hove Albion, thereby undermining the need for a center half.
With Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven both nursing hamstring injuries, Spurs were determined to address the issue straight into the January transfer window.
They were heavily linked with Jean-Clair Todibo, however, with Spurs preferring to snap up a defender by next week or so, the deal is likely to collapse.
As of now, there happens to be some distance between the asking price and what Tottenham are willing to pay. The Italian club are presently asking for €30m, while Dragusin’s suitors are looking to cough up around €25m.
The same was confirmed by his agent Florin Manea, who said: “We said to ourselves that we will talk after the transfer market. We don’t want to leave either, we start from this assumption, then if an important club comes that can make him make a leap in his career it’s normal that they can evaluate him.”
He continued “Just like Genoa, if an important figure arrives, according to what we’ve read there is talk of possible offers of €30million [£26m]. In life certain trains arrive once or twice, but we are in no hurry to leave, many teams have called and are interested. In my opinion, if he leaves Genoa, he must do so for a very important team. I’m talking about one of the top five or six in the Premier League, the top in Italy like Inter or Milan.”
Dragusin has established himself as a sturdy, aerially powerful defender in the Italian top-flight. He featured in each of Genoa’s 18 league outings and returned two goals. The 21-year-old has also amassed 13 caps for Romania, having taken very little time to adapt to international football.
It’s believed Postecoglou gave the green light to the pursuit, and while Tottenham scour the market, Ben Godfrey and Tosin Adarabioyo have emerged as viable options as well.
A home fixture against Burnley awaits at the start of 2024 in the FA Cup third round, in the meantime.
-Roy Akarshak
Twitter: @RoyAkarshak
Photo: Hzh. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.