The agent of Genoa star Radu Dragusin has been left in shock after the defender rejected Bayern Munich in favour of a move to Tottenham Hotspur.
Tottenham made Radu Dragusin their top centre back target heading into the January transfer window with Ange Postecoglou in need of another defender.
Finding somebody to offer depth behind Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven whilst being good enough to step in when needed was a potentially tricky task.
Dragusin became the top target and even though Bayern Munich made moves to hijack Spurs, the 6ft 3in centre back is now on the verge of joining Postecoglou’s side.
HITC Football understands that Dragusin is heading to London for a medical today with Gianluca Di Marzio publishing photos of him at the airport, ready to travel to England.
Radu Dragusin’s agent left stunned by Tottenham decision
Tottenham had been favourites to sign Dragusin for weeks but finalising a deal with Genoa was proving a little difficult.
When Tottenham did get a deal in place, Bundesliga giants Bayern decided to enter the race and attempt to lure Dragusin to Bavaria.
That will have been a daunting proposition for Spurs, with Bayern one of the biggest clubs around and harbouring dreams of winning the Champions League this season.
Yet rather than join Harry Kane in Germany, Dragusin has chosen to sign for Tottenham in what feels like a massive coup.
Dragusin’s decision has surprised many and that seemingly includes his agent Florin Manea.
Speaking to GSP in Romania, Manea has admitted that ‘everything is ready’ and Dragusin will soon be signing for Tottenham.
Manea added that he can’t believe he had to call Bayern and tell them the final decision, noting that he is a ‘little shocked’ by Dragusin preferring Tottenham.
The centre back ultimately wanted to play in the Premier League despite Bayern offering him more money, meaning he is ‘happy’ to join Spurs in the best step for his career, according to Manea.
“Everything is ready. We will fly to London and after the medical visit the transfer will be formalised,” said Manea. “This morning, at 8 o’clock, the decision was made. We were determined to go to Tottenham, but the offer came from Bayern. And we stopped in place. I was on my way to the airport. I said we have to think carefully and evaluate. Bayern is one of the biggest clubs. I can’t believe I turned Bayern down!”
“But that’s the decision. I took it with Radu and his family. I informed Bayern that this was the decision, that they came in the last hundred meters and that it was difficult to change our decision. Maybe in the future we will get there. We are a little shocked (see below). To turn down Bayern… But it was ultimately what Radu and his family wanted. He is happy. We’re going to Tottenham!”
“Naturally, Radu also thought about Bayern’s offer. I made the decision in the morning. It’s hard to make such a choice. Bayern strongly wanted him, but the official offer came on the last night. There was more money from Bayern, but he said that this is the right step in his career. We stayed up all night to think. I did not sleep at all. We stayed to see what the pluses and minuses are. Both Napoli and AC Milan wanted him. But he dreamed of playing in the Premier League from a young age,” he added.
Note: Manea stated ‘bulversati’ in Romanian, which translates to ‘upset’, ‘confused’ or ‘shocked’ in English.
Spurs fans will love that Dragusin turned down more money from a perceivably bigger club in order to make the move to North London.
That suggests that Dragusin is really passionate about this move and will be determined to make it a success having rejected one of the world’s biggest clubs.
The deal appears to be close to completion now with Dragusin set to follow in the footsteps of Gheorghe Popescu, Ilie Dumitrescu and Vlad Chiriches in terms of Romanian stars turning out for Tottenham.
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