The agent of Tottenham Hotspur’s new £26 million centre-half admits he talked to Premier League rivals Newcastle United ‘in the last few days’ before his arrival in North London from Genoa.
Eddie Howe spelled out the difficulties facing Newcastle United in the January transfer window last week. The so-called ‘richest football club on planet earth’ they may be but, caught in the vice-like grip of Financial Fair Play, those Saudi billions will not see the light of day this month.
“In an ideal world, given the freedom to act, we would have brought players in already,” Howe said, via Sky Sports.
“But we’re not in that situation. Financial Fair Play is a problem for us, and we’re having to navigate round that. That’s the position we’re in. When does it become a problem? It’s already one, but we’re trying to manage through it.”
Howe ruled out a reunion with his former Bournemouth striker Dominic Solanke, while Newcastle were in no position to go head-to-head for the signature of Radu Dragusin either when Tottenham reached advanced talks over a £26 million move for the powerhouse Romanian centre-half.
Newcastle United missed out on Tottenham’s Radu Dragusin
It is no secret that Dragusin had admirers at St James’ Park. Newcastle have been scouring the market for a right-sided defender for months now, with Dragusin’s agent Florin Manea confirming that he had ‘spoke’ with the Magpies before Christmas.
And it seems that Newcastle’s interest remained until Dragusin officially became a Tottenham Hotspur player last week, those pesky FFP concerns denying Howe the chance to throw a spanner in Spurs’ works.
“I’m sure he’ll impose himself. I hope he’ll do it quickly, (but) we have to give him time to adjust,” Manea tells Orange Sport.
“It’s nice to make the most expensive transfer in the history of Romanian football. It’s exciting. That’s why I started this (agency) business, to be able to break records, to talk with big clubs. It’s an honour.
“I talked with Bayern (Munich) in the last few days. Tottenham, Napoli, Milan, Newcastle… I talked to a bunch of clubs.”
‘I talked with Newcastle’
Dragusin made his Tottenham debut off the bench in last week’s 2-2 draw at Manchester United. And while some have suggested that a move to North London is but a stepping stone on the path to Real Madrid or Barcelona, the 21-year-old obviously has a lot of admiration for a club he turned down the champions of Germany and Italy for.
“Radu was impressed by Tottenham,” Manea adds. “He is aware of the level he has reached. He is not afraid, he is confident in his powers, and will fight for the starting position.
“He chose with his heart. He refused Bayern Munich to go to Tottenham. He didn’t look at money or fame, it was his dream to play in the Premier League. He gave his word to those from Tottenham.
“The discussions were long, and Bayern appeared in the last hundred meters. I knew about Tottenham’s interest a month before the transfer happened.”
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