Tottenham Hotspur’s £26 million acquisition of Radu Dragusin will be a ‘heavy burden’ for Genoa with one Serie A pundit drawing intriguing comparisons between the Premier League newcomer and Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk.
With a top-flight debut on the cards against Manchester United on Sunday, Radu Dragusin will be hoping to make an immediate impact in his new home.
The £26 million signing certainly arrives amidst a stellar run of form, Serie A commentator Alberto Santi doing little to quell the Virgil van Dijk comparisons which have followed Dragusin throughout his time in Italian football.
Tottenham Hotspur’s own Virgil van Dijk?
“(Dragusin’s departure) risks being a heavy burden (for Genoa). And not just because he was one of the best defenders in the league,” Santi tells TorinoGranata.
“Before Bologna vs Genoa (a 1-1 draw last week), I had found a statistic that said among the (players in the) top five European leagues with at least fifteen appearances, only one had been dribbled past fewer than Dragusin.
“Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk, zero times, and Dragusin only once.
“This makes us understand how he truly was a decisive player,” Santi adds. “But when a club comes along and offers 30 million euros, as Tottenham did, it’s difficult to say no at that moment.
“So, it is a Genoa that certainly loses a lot, because the Romanian was one of the best in the half part of the season, together with Gudmundsson. And we will see how he will be replaced by the transfer market.”
Bayern Munich miss out on Radu Dragusin
Tottenham fought off competition not only from Bayern Munich but also from Italian giants Napoli and AC Milan, the former Juventus defender arriving on Thursday while being confirmed as Spurs’ new number six.
Dragusin, a powerful, physically imposing central defender who shares Van Dijk’s aerial ability as well as the Dutchman’s superb passing range, adds further quality to a Tottenham backline which has already been boosted considerably by the return of Micky Van de Ven from injury.
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