‘It’s finally DONE’: Tottenham hotspur finally agree price with Genoa after long-term negotiations for Radu Dragusin [Jersey number confirmed, Medicals to be scheduled next week]
Tottenham are hurtling towards the signing of Radu Dragusin with the sort of fee Daniel Levy can expect to pay and when the Romania defender will move to north London revealed by transfer guru Fabrizio Romano.
Ange Postecoglou’s side have seemingly recovered from their November blip that threatened to undo their brilliant start under Ange Postecoglou. Having won eight and drawn two of their opening 10 games, making it the best start ever made by a new coach in the Premier League, hopes were burning bright that Tottenham could enjoy a triumphant season.
However, their early-season optimism quickly evaporated in one hellish game against bogey side Chelsea in early November. Not only did nine-man Tottenham lose the game 4-1, they also lost arguably their two players in James Maddison and Micky van de Ven to relatively lengthy injuries.
That left Postecoglou desperately short of options and having to play quite a few players out of position, most notably with full-backs Emerson Royal and Ben Davies having to team up as a makeshift central defensive partnership.
Nonetheless, Tottenham have rallied from their recent blip to win five of their last six games, closing to within a point of fourth-placed Arsenal in the Premier League table and the race for a top-four finish.
And now with the January window open for business, Tottenham have been the most proactive of all Premier League sides so far, having agreed a deal to bring Timo Werner to N17 on loan from RB Leipzig with a view to a permanent move.
Spurs closing in on Radu Dragusin signing
However, Tottenham are far from done as far as new signings are concerned with Postecoglou always making clear his ambitions to add another centre-half to his mix.
And with Eric Dier being cleared to leave for Bayern Munich in a cut-price deal, Spurs have stepped up their ambitions to sign a replacement and bring in another centre-half, who can thrive in with the Aussie’s high-defensive line approach.
While the club did explore a possible deal for Nice defender Jean-Clair Todibo, the French club’s refusal to sanction a deal mid season unless a sky-high asking price was met saw Tottenham move on to the second of those options, in Dragusin.
The Romania defender has established himself as one of Serie A’s best defender since moving to Genoa from Juventus.
And while Napoli are also in the running to sign him, they have seen an opening offer fail and are not expected to raise it, giving Tottenham a clear run at his signature.
Their opening €23m (£19.8m) offer has fallen short with Genoa. But with the defender having already agreed personal terms with the 21-year-old, Romano has revealed Tottenham are intent on pushing through his signing and are optimistic a deal can be done before the end of next week.
Romano wrote in his Caught Offside column: “Timo Werner is expected to be announced as a new Tottenham player in the next couple of days. He will travel to London to complete his medical tests and sign his contract to join on loan from RB Leipzig.”
Spurs to pay more than expected for Dragusin
Romano continued: “Negotiations are also ongoing between Tottenham and Genoa for Radu Dragusin. I told you recently that Spurs had already agreed personal terms with the talented young defender, and now positive contacts have taken place between the two clubs.
“The situation is that Genoa were starting with an asking price of around €35m (£30m), then down to €30m (£25.8m).
“Tottenham made an initial €23m verbal proposal, but they are now moving towards a higher fee. The deal is absolutely on, it’s progressing well and moving towards the crucial final stages.
“It’s not done yet, but it’s really concrete and Tottenham hope to sign Dragusin by next week.”
Per reports, Spurs are hopeful of settling on a fee of around €25m (£21.5m) plus add-ons for Dragusin that could take the deal nearer the €30m mark.
In addition, Genoa could ask for a percentage of any future sell-on to potentially guarantee them a future return on the 13-times capped international.
Since signing from Juve, Dragusin has played 61 times for Il Grifone, scoring six goals, and having helped them win promotion from Serie B last season.
