The sale of Radu Dragusin to Premier League giants Tottenham Hotspur was a ‘calculated risk’, according to the sporting director of Serie A outfit Genoa.
When Ange Postecoglou’s side came calling – a centre-half one Tottenham’s top priorities during the January transfer window – the task fell on Marco Ottolini to balance the pros with the cons.
Genoa, at the time, were hovering nervously above the Serie A relegation zone. Their colossal centre-half Radu Dragusin – a major presence in both penalty areas – arguably the main reason why Il Grifone still had a slight cushion between themselves and the bottom three.
But, given their financial situation, Genoa were in no real position to bat away offers without a second thought.
Tottenham Hotspur paid £26m for Radu Dragusin
“There were various interested (clubs), including Napoli,” Ottolini explains, speaking to Radio Sportiva.
“(Napoli president Aurelio) De Laurentiis has already talked about that. There were speeches and talks, things then went differently.
“We need to put the club back on a certain path, (so) the sale of Dragusin was important. From a technical point of view, perhaps (selling our star man was) risky. Radu is an important player.
“But it was a calculated risk.”
Spurs fight off Napoli and Bayern Munich
With two draws and two wins in their four games without Dragusin, a sequence of results that have seen them pull clear of the relegation battle, Genoa have certainly gone about offsetting any fears that the sale of their Romanian powerhouse would pave the way for an immediate return to Serie B.
Dragusin, one of two January signings alongside Timo Werner at Tottenham, turned down not only Napoli – the reigning if struggling Serie A champions – but also Bayern Munich and AC Milan in favour of fulfilling a ‘childhood dream’ in North London.
An FFP-impeded Newcastle United side also held talks, according to Dragusin’s agent.
“There are clubs that are more renowned they have more attraction. And I never get angry (about that),” Napoli chief De Laurentiis tells Tuttomercatoweb.
“See Dragusin, to whom I offered more money than Tottenham. He preferred England even over Bayern. And you can’t fight (that desire).”
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