Genoa ace Radu Dragusin may be better off at Newcastle United than Arsenal with the Premier League giants in pursuit of the £25 million-rated Serie A centre-back.
That is the view of former Romania and Southampton defender Florin Gardos, speaking to Fanatik after Radu Dragusin’s always-outspoken agent indicated that a move away from the Stadio Luigi Ferraris is getting ‘closer’ ahead of the January transfer window.
Florin Manea went public with Newcastle United’s interest a couple of weeks ago. Now in London for talks over his client’s future, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur appear to have thrown their respective hats into the ring too, talks regarding one of Europe’s most talented young centre-halves underway.
Arsenal and Tottenham join Newcastle in £25m race
“What can I say, what I have seen in the matches, (is that) he has physicality,” Gardos tells Fanatik. “What I liked about him from what I saw in the national team is that he is good in the aerial game. He always wins duels.
“(Dragusin) has great quality. He is 21-years-old, and he already has good experience. As well as growing up at Juventus through some great centre-backs, he has this very good potential.
“Besides that, everything I heard, he is very serious about what he eats and what he does.”
Between Newcastle and Arsenal, meanwhile, Gardos feels that his compatriot would be better off at the former than the latter. At the Emirates, Dragusin would find himself in direct competition with the outstanding William Saliba, a player Gardos feels is among the ‘top five’ in Europe at present.
With all due respect to Fabian Schar and Jamaal Lascelles, outstanding since the appointment of Eddie Howe, regular game time is probably more attainable at St James’ Park than at Saliba’s Arsenal.
Radu Dragusin has Premier League choice
“It’s hard for me to say if he would play at Arsenal. I don’t know. It’s not hard for me to believe that he could play there. (But) thinking about who is playing there, at this moment it would be difficult,” Gardos adds.
“He could play at Newcastle, who don’t have centre-backs at that level at the moment. At Arsenal, it is more difficult because there is Saliba. And at the moment, (Saliba) is in the top five in the world.”
Manea believes Genoa are likely to hold out for £25 million for the one-time Juventus youngster.
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