Player Watch Player Watch: Radu Dragusin

Enter the Dragusin? Tottenham’s January recruit is ready to seize his chance
Radu Dragusin, Tottenham Hotspur
By Jack Pitt-Brooke
Mar 13, 2024

On the morning of January 10, Radu Dragusin had two private planes lined up for him at the airport in Genoa.

One had been chartered to fly to London if Dragusin was to fulfil his dream of moving to the Premier League and signing for Tottenham Hotspur. The other was ready to fly over the Alps to Munich in case the Spurs move fell through and Dragusin was to take up the far more lucrative offer to join Bayern.

The previous evening, it had been unclear which of the two planes Dragusin would take the next morning. It was only at 3am that the issue was settled when Daniel Levy and technical director Johan Lange called Dragusin’s camp and told them the good news: Tottenham and Genoa had agreed a deal for his permanent transfer. Dragusin could get on the plane he always wanted to board, complete his medical at Spurs, and sign a contract until 2030.

That had always been Dragusin’s aim in the January window: to come to Tottenham and test himself in the Premier League. It was not about money; if he had joined Bayern and played, he could have earned almost double what he will earn at Spurs. It was about being wanted, about the fact Spurs had moved for him much earlier than Bayern, and about the two phone calls with Ange Postecoglou to spell out where he fitted in.

Two months on, Dragusin has settled into life at Spurs. He is enjoying his time in London (it helps that he speaks excellent English) and has been impressing Postecoglou in training. The one thing left is for him to play.

Progress has been slow on that front: Dragusin got five minutes (plus added time) at Old Trafford just three days after joining, then two minutes against Brentford, and then the very end of the game at Goodison Park at the start of February.

It was only at Villa Park on Sunday afternoon that Dragusin got enough time to show what he is about. When Micky van de Ven hurt himself stretching to block a Leon Bailey shot early in the second half, he limped off. Dragusin came on in his place and got almost the whole second half, his first real taste of Premier League football.

Dragusin did well, slotting in alongside Cristian Romero, showcasing his ability to defend one against one, always willing to put his body on the line. He recovered well from one painful blow and by the end, was even celebrating catching Villa forwards offside as a personal triumph. He even showed a bit more ambition on the ball than Van de Ven does, trying one long pass to Dejan Kulusevski to try to spring an early attack.

Postecoglou was very happy afterwards that he had finally been able to give Dragusin some proper playing time and was impressed with what he saw. “It was great for Radu to come in for his first significant game time in a big game,” he said. “And I thought he handled it really well.”

Dragusin has had to be patient ever since he joined Tottenham, waiting for his opportunity to get some first-team minutes. Perhaps it was unfortunate timing that he arrived at almost the exact point when Romero and Van de Ven recovered from hamstring injuries that had kept them out of the Christmas fixtures. They both returned to the team for the trip to Old Trafford on January 14 — Dragusin’s debut — and have started the last eight straight games together since. It is certainly a change from when he was at Genoa, where manager Alberto Gilardino marvelled at how he could build his defence around a then-20-year-old.

Micky van de Ven went off injured during Tottenham’s win at Aston Villa (Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
But Dragusin always knew he would eventually get his chance. He knew from the example of the former Romania captain Cristian Chivu, who left Universitatea Craiova for Ajax as a teenager in 1999 and had to wait months on the bench before he got his chance. Chivu went on to play for Roma and then Inter Milan, where he won three Serie A titles and a Champions League.

Dragusin was also familiar with the story of Nemanja Vidic, who was 24 when he left Spartak Moscow to join Manchester United during the January 2006 window. He started slowly and did not become a regular starter until March, then went on to become one of United’s greatest centre-backs of the modern era.

The player Dragusin looks up to the most is not Chivu or Vidic, but Giorgio Chiellini, who was the rock of Juventus’ defence when Dragusin arrived there as a teenager. Fabio Paratici always thought Dragusin had something of Chiellini about him, in his pure defensive instincts and his commitment to improve. When Dragusin arrived at Juventus, Chiellini took him under his wing and still continues to message him encouragement and advice.

All Dragusin had to do during his first two months was to knuckle down at Spurs and work hard. It certainly helps that, even by the standard of modern footballers, he is a perfectionist with his physical condition. He weighs his own food, measures his own sleep, and likes to go to the gym before and after training if he can. When Dragusin, who has one year left on a degree course in Romania, is not playing, he likes to play chess — a passion he shares with Eric Dier, the man he effectively replaced in the January window when Dier left Spurs for Bayern.

He pores over footage of his own game, analysing his mistakes and finding areas to improve. From the very start of his career, when he left Romania for Juventus as a teenager, it was this relentless mentality that marked him out.

How Spurs pipped Bayern to the signing of Radu Dragusin

The only question remaining is whether Dragusin will now get a run in Postecoglou’s side. Tottenham will wait this week to see the extent of the injury Van de Ven suffered on Sunday afternoon. Postecoglou’s view straight after the game was that Van de Ven did not “think it’s anything too significant” and while there was no news about it at the start of the week, the Spurs manager will be asked about it at his press conference on Friday afternoon.

Earlier in the season, any news of a potential Van de Ven injury would be met with shock. Remember how Spurs’ season went into a spin after the hamstring strain he suffered against Chelsea in early November? Tottenham did not truly recover their balance until he returned two months later.

The difference between Spurs with and without Van de Ven is remarkable: they average 1.3 goals against per game with him, 1.8 without. They concede 11.6 shots per game with him, 15.7 without, and gain 2.2 points per game with him, 1.4 without. However, it should be acknowledged that the contrast is even starker with and without Romero in the team.

Sunday was a perfect example of how important Van de Ven is to this team. He was repeatedly called upon to shut down Villa’s counter-attacks, as early as the first minute having to put in a crucial tackle on Ollie Watkins, who had already skipped past Romero. His recovery pace makes him as important as anyone to making Postecoglou’s football work given Tottenham’s high defensive line.

Dragusin was disappointed for Van de Ven when he went off injured on Sunday because he never wanted his opportunity to come from an injury to a team-mate, but if he makes his first start at Craven Cottage on Saturday, he is determined to seize his chance.