Tottenham could offer up defender Radu Dragusin in a swap deal to sign one Euro 2024 star, despite the Romanian only joining six months ago.
How Dragusin has played since joining Spurs
Signing in a £25 million deal from Genoa in the winter, with right-back Djed Spence going the other way on loan, Dragusin has since managed to rack up nine Premier League appearances for Spurs and 424 minutes of action in total.
Related
Levy ready to back Ange with £100m as forward says yes to joining Tottenham
The Lilywhites chairman is prepared to spend.
Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero are currently manager Ange Postecoglou’s favoured starting centre-back pair, and for good reason, considering both men were crucial in Spurs’ chase for Europe last season.
An injury to van de Ven midway through the campaign highlighted the club’s lack of depth at centre-half, though, prompting them to make a move for Dragusin as much-needed cover for the Dutchman and Romero.
|
Radu Dragusin’s best games for Tottenham last season |
Match Rating (via WhoScored) |
|---|---|
|
Sheffield United 0-3 Tottenham |
6.98/10 |
|
Aston Villa 0-4 Tottenham |
6.67/10 |
|
Tottenham 2-1 Luton |
6.61/10 |
|
Tottenham 0-2 Man City |
6.49/10 |
|
Fulham 3-0 Tottenham |
6.28/10 |
The 22-year-old, currently representing Romania at the Euros, was given a succession of cameos off the bench at the start of his Spurs career – but injuries eventually gave Postecoglou to hand Dragusin his first full starts against Fulham and Luton Town.
A season-ending injury to Destiny Udogie meant Dragusin was given the nod for Tottenham’s final two games against Man City and Sheffield United, with van de Ven moving to left-back and the former Serie A star put in at centre-half.
There were some regrettable outings from Dragusin during his first six months at N17, like his performance in Spurs’ 3-0 away defeat to Fulham, but the youngster has also displayed real assurance at times.
“He hasn’t gone out at all in London, to go out clubbing or anywhere,” said his agent, Florin Manea, in an interview with Fanatik.
“I don’t even know he’s gone out to eat twice. He doesn’t go out. We went out twice to a restaurant. He leaves at 9am, and comes back at 3-3.30pm, because he puts in an extra two hours of gym every day and an hour on the pitch.
“It’s not exactly easy. It’s like having a job. He grafts and grafts. There’s also this pressure, he’s thinking about the national team, the Euros. He really wants to succeed. I think we can already say that he is one step in the winning boat.”
Dragusin has the potential to be a hero at Spurs, but reports suggest this summer window could have more part-exchange deals than usual. That is the theme of Aston Villa’s business so far, as they look to bring in Samuel Iling-Junior from Juventus with Douglas Luiz going the other way.
Tottenham have been tipped with a swap deal to sign Leeds United’s Archie Gray as well, with Joe Rodon or Oliver Skipp going to Leeds as makeweights.
Tottenham could use Dragusin in swap deal to sign Kristjan Asllani
According to a surprise report from Inter Live, Tottenham could actually use Dragusin in a swap deal to sign Kristjan Asllani. The Albania ace at Euro 2024 would traditionally cost up to £34 million, such is Inter’s valuation, with the highly-rated 22-year-old impressing across 33 appearances in all competitions for the Nerazzurri last season.
The defensive midfield ace is being courted by Serie A sides, but Spurs may have a financial advantage over them. The report claims as such, and also says that Fabio Paratici is having a hand in Tottenham’s pursuit of Asllani.
