Tottenham Hotspur are keen to sign Genoa defender Radu Dragusin and the move has been praised by Romanian coach Marius Sumudica.
Tottenham are desperate to add another centre back with Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven both on the treatment table.
Romero and Van de Ven should be back soon but the lack of depth in defence is a concern for Tottenham.
HITC Sport understands that Spurs are now moving forward with a deal to sign Genoa centre back Radu Dragusin.
Terms have been agreed with Dragusin and the deal could reach around £25million, a little higher than the £20million Tottenham were looking to pay.
Radu Dragusin praised ahead of potential Tottenham Hotspur move
Tottenham will hope to get this deal over the line quickly, especially with interest from Italian clubs, but there appears to still be some work to do.
Dragusin only joined Genoa permanently over the summer, completing a full-time move from Juventus after shining on loan in Serie B last season.
The Romanian is now excelling in Italy’s top flight and Tottenham are keen to bring in the 21-year-old as competition for Romero and Van de Ven.
The move is making headlines every few hours in Romania and everybody seems to be having their say on Dragusin and his expected move this month.
Romanian coach Marius Sumudica – currently in charge of Turkish side Gaziantep – has now told Digisport that he thinks Dragusin has worked hard to get to this point in his career.
Previously a top young talent at Juventus, Dragusin is now starting to fulfil his potential and could earn himself a big move.
Sumudica thinks that even a fee of €20million (£17.5million) would be great for Romanian football as it will make headlines around the world.
Sumudica feels all Romanians will be proud if Dragusin makes this move to Tottenham, congratulating him on a potential switch to North London.
“Dragușin is the only Romanian player who can play for Galatasaray and Fenerbahce,” said Sumudica. “I watched him at the match with Inter when I was at home. You can tell by his face. I’m not really wrong about players. He is a boy with unusual modesty.”
“He worked to get where he is. I congratulate him. I think he will be the subject of a transfer of proportions. He plays for Genoa and is one of the Romanian players who plays at a high level. And if 20 million euros are paid for him, that’s fine. With a transfer like this, you stick your head out into the world, it is written in the international press. You are also proud to be Romanian. They asked me in Turkey about him. You are proud when you hear that a Romanian can transfer for such an amount,” he added.
We are only three days into the January transfer window but Tottenham appear to be moving in to finalise the Dragusin move.
Dragusin is likely to features as a third-choice centre back when Romero and Van de Ven are fit, but Tottenham wanted somebody with potential who could step in and be counted upon when needed.
Dragusin fits that bill, and it looks like he has everybody in Romania cheering him on as he nears a move to the Premier League.
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