Tottenham Hotspur’s busy January transfer window continued Thursday as the North Londoners announced the addition of Romanian center back Radu Dragusin from Genoa.
The 21-year-old defender heads to the Premier League with fullback Djed Spence going the other way on loan following a half-season on loan to Leeds United. The move comes the same day that Eric Dier left the club for Bayern Munich.
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Dragusin has played every Serie A minute for Genoa this season, scoring twice and adding an assist. He has 13 caps for Romania.
He began his career in his native Romania before moving to Juventus in 2018.
He was a regular in their youth ranks before loan spells to Sampdoria, Salernitana, and Genoa, the latter of which bought him for around $6 million this summer. He’ll certainly have bagged the club a profit.
What will Radu Dragusin bring to Tottenham?
Durability, for one thing. Dragusin is a first team regular who played all but 45 minutes in Genoa’s promotion campaign from Serie B last season before doing the same in the first half of this season.
Dragusin stands 6-foot-3 and is an imposing presence in both boxes. He gets forward plenty for a center back and averages 4.58 clearances and 3.05 aerials won per 90 minutes.
A brave shot blocker, Dragusin helped Romania go unbeaten in EURO qualifying. He played every minute of Romania’s run to the top of Group I, where they won six times with four draws and only allowed five goals.
He joins Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero in Spurs back line and will instantly compete for playing time. If he can deliver passing accuracy, it won’t be a surprise to see him get regular opportunities once he learns Ange Postecoglou’s system.