Sources: Tottenham close in on Radu Dragusin amid Fabio Paratici advice, fee described as ‘excessive’
Fabio Paratici has been influential in a deal which could see Genoa defender Radu Dragusin arrive in north London in the coming days, Tottenham News has been told.
Dragusin has played every minute of his side’s Serie A campaign so far this season, scoring twice and registering one assist.
The 21-year-old central defender came through Juventus’ youth ranks and was sent out on multiple loans in Serie A before securing a permanent switch to Genoa last summer.
Dragusin has played 12 times for the Romania national team, making his debut on 25 March 2022.
Tottenham News has learned that a deal between Genoa and Spurs for the transfer of the defender is imminent, and Paratici’s connection to the Italian market has been influential in the progress of the deal to date.
As per The Telegraph (2 January), Paratici is continuing to work with Tottenham and assist them in their January transfer business on a consultancy basis, despite his active ban preventing him from working within football worldwide, which was issued for his role in alleged false accounting during his time at Juventus.
The reported fee for Dragusin is set to be somewhere between £19.8-25.8million (Fabrizio Romano, 3 January), which an industry source with links to the British transfer market has described as “excessive” to Tottenham News, suggesting a fee of somewhere between £12-15million would have been more reasonable.
Ange Postecoglou is in desperate need of defensive reinforcements, with injuries to Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero exposing the lack of depth in the Australian’s squad.
Left-back Ben Davies has been required to fill in at left centre-back, with the club’s only other senior central defender, Eric Dier, deemed surplus to requirements.
In other Tottenham news, Manchester City are eyeing a swoop for one Spurs defender as they look to secure a replacement for one of their ageing stars.