The 21-year-old was discarded by the Serie A giants – but he has now completed a life-changing Premier League move
Standing at six foot three inches tall and sporting a striking top knot-goatee combination, it's hard to miss Radu Dragusin when he takes to the field. And Premier League attackers are about to get far better acquainted with the 21-year-old.
According to various outlets, including , Tottenham won the race to sign the centre-back from Genoa for a fee that could reach the €30 million (£25.8m/$32.8m) mark. The deal has seen outcast Djed Spence head in the other direction on loan, a sweetener that no doubt helped the club beat off Bayern Munich's late attempts to hijack the transfer. Spurs officially announced Dragusin's signing on Thursday.
It's another early sign of intent – after the arrival of Timo Werner – from the north London club, who despite losing key defenders Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero to injury, have managed to stay in touch with the Premier League top four during the first half of the season.
Dragusin's imminent move also caps off an impressive personal recovery after being discarded by Juventus without ever receiving a proper chance in the first team. Here is what Spurs fans can expect from the Ange Postecoglou footballing revolution's newest convert…
Getty ImagesWhere it all began
It's little surprise that Dragusin ended up being a professional sportsperson. Both of his parents represented Romania in their chosen field, with his father playing volleyball while his mother earned international honours in basketball.
Dragusin was not tempted by either of these pursuits, though. After his cousin introduced him to football, he joined local side Sportul Studentesc before moving on to Regal Sport Bucharest, a talent centre with close links to Atletico Madrid.
Los Rojiblancos failed to use this connection to their advantage, though. Instead it would be Juventus who snapped Dragusin up in 2018. Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain were interested too, but the Bianconeri acted quickly after he impressed during the second of two trials in Turin, paying €250,000 for Romania's Under-16 captain.
"My brother called me and told me there's a good young player [in Romania] and I sent him to see with his own eyes," Florin Manea, the agent who brokered Dragusin's move to Italy, told "He confirmed that initial impression by telling me he is a star, so I quickly reported to Juventus.
"After about an hour, Matteo Tognozzi, Juventus' chief scout, called me to say that Radu impressed everyone. Other teams were interested too, but the Bianconeri really wanted him. He asked me, 'Where can I become a great central defender?' Chelsea wanted him too, but that's why he chose Juventus."
In Turin, Dragusin gradually moved through the age groups, starting with the Under-17s and eventually being called up to the first-team in November 2020 for a clash against Lazio. He did not make it off the bench on that occasion, but did not have to wait too much longer for his senior debut, coming on in the second half of a comfortable Champions League victory over Dynamo Kyiv the following month.
As the 2020-21 season progressed, Dragusin continued to impress for the Under-23s and was rewarded with a maiden start in the Coppa Italia, eventually earning a new, four-year contract in the summer. GOAL understands that RB Leipzig tabled a lucrative offer too, but he instead opted to remain at Juventus and fight for his place.
After this, his career stagnated somewhat. He failed to impress during loan spells at Sampdoria and Salernitana, finding himself at a bit of a crossroads ahead of the 2022-23 campaign.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesThe big break
Dragusin would end up stepping down to Serie B with Genoa and the loan deal – which included an obligation to buy, with Andrea Cambiasso moving in the other direction – turned out to be exactly what he needed at that stage of his development.
Impressively, he would miss just 45 minutes of his new side's promotion-winning season, helping them record the second-best defensive record in the division and also chipping in with four goals.
His stunning club form also led to him nailing down a place in Romania's starting XI. Dragusin played each of his nation's 10 Euro 2024 qualifiers as they surprisingly topped Group I over top seeds Switzerland. Edward Iordanescu's team did so while conceding just five times – with Dragusin absolutely pivotal to this impressive record.
Getty ImagesHow it's going
Since securing promotion back to the top-flight, Dragusin has helped his team settle back in Serie A. Heading into the winter break, Alberto Gilardino's charges sit 12th, albeit only six points clear of the relegation spots in what is a highly-congested bottom half of the table.
Dragusin's star has continued to rise in Genoa this season, with the Romanian one of just six Serie A outfield players to not miss a single second of action thus far. He's continued to offer a goal threat too, scoring twice. This included an important equaliser against leaders Inter in his side's final match of 2023.
Key to his improvement has been his strong relationship with manager Gilardino, who enjoyed a prolific scoring career at the likes of Parma, AC Milan and Fiorentina during his playing days. Speaking before Genoa's narrow Coppa Italia defeat to Roma in 2023, Dragusin said: "Gilardino has given us a lot confidence in our abilities, he told us to play with heart and give everything on the pitch."
Getty ImagesBiggest strengths
Dragusin's best attribute is his ability in the air. At the time of writing, only one player has won more aerial duels than him in Serie A this season, and considering that man is six foot, six inch Hellas Verona striker Milan Duric, it's understandable why the 21-year-old doesn't have the top spot.
Dragusin's heading ability makes him a potent weapon from set-pieces, while his strength would seem to suit him well to the highly-physical Premier League. His love for nitty-gritty defending is also reflected in his clearance numbers, with only two Serie A players completing more thus far during the current campaign.
Dragusin is a highly adept tackler too. Although he is not a particularly active defender – the fact that he plays in the middle of Genoa's back three means he sits deeper than his two flanking team-mates – when he does have to make a challenge, he almost invariably comes out on top. Of the 232 Serie A players who attempted 15-plus tackles in the first half of the season, none had a better success rate (93.8 percent) than him.
