Tottenham are on the move for a new central defender.
Tottenham are in talks with Italian Serie A side Genoa over the signing of Radu Dragucin, reports Jack Pitt-Brook of The Athletic.
Tottenham have made a number of changes this summer with the appointment of manager Enze Postecoglou. Destiny Udogie returned from his loan spell, while James Maddison, Brennan Johnson, Manure Solomon, and Mickey Vanderven were among the new additions.
At the beginning of the season, there were doubts about Postecoglou, who had no experience with big clubs and the big leagues, but after opening the season unbeaten in 10 league games, the team has raised expectations.
Moreover, tactically, the team’s strong forward pressure and fast-paced offense, which is different from previous managers’ defensive-oriented tactics, has won the fans’ approval.
In particular, he used Son Heung-min up front to boost his scoring output, while the back line of Christian Romero and Van der Vaal ensured both defense and buildup.
But the team began to falter against Chelsea in November, when Tottenham lost a string of key players to injuries to Maddison and van der Vaart, as well as suspensions to Romero and Udogie.
The team had been struggling with injuries since the start of the season, with Ivan Perisic, Ryan Sessegnon, and Solomon among the first few players to go down.
After a poor run of one win, one draw, and four defeats in five games starting with the Chelsea game, Spurs thankfully found some stability in December.
However, their injury situation hasn’t improved. This time, both of their starting central defenders have been ruled out of action, with Romero also going down.
Spurs now have Ben Davies and Eric Dier as backups. Given that Davies is a fullback by nature, Dier is the only professional central defender.
However, Postecoglou continued with the team’s tactical mood, playing Davies and Emerson Royal in central defense in place of Dyer. Not trusting Dyer, who had been extremely poor in recent years.
As a result, Tottenham were short of central defenders and looked to bring in new players in the January transfer window, and Dragucin was on their radar.
Dragucin is a Romanian defender born in 2002 who came through the Juventus youth ranks. After making his professional debut for Juventus in 2020, he spent time on loan at Sampdoria, Salernitana, and Genoa before making a permanent move to first-team Genoa last year.
At such a young age, he has been able to compete with the best of them, using his 6-foot-2 frame to win aerial balls and his composure in man-to-man defense.
According to European soccer transfer market expert Fabrizio Romano, Tottenham have reached an agreement with Dragucin’s side and are continuing to negotiate with the club.
Currently, Genoa want €35 million for Dragucin, while Tottenham want less.