Radu Dragusin told he’s not good enough for PL after Tottenham loss v Chelsea
Nigel Reo-Coker has questioned whether Radu Dragusin is good enough for the Premier League after his display for Tottenham in the 4-2 loss against Chelsea.
The Romanian lost his place in the side after the disgraceful defending on show in the 1-0 loss against Bournemouth, but he was called upon 15 minutes into the clash on Sunday [8 December] to replace the newly returned Cristian Romero.
However, Reo-Coker analysed the defeat on the Football Daily Podcast [8 December, 20m 18s], and while the former Premier League midfielder believes starting Micky van de Ven and Romero was a mistake, he also believes Dragusin is not cut out for the top flight.
He said: “Injuries are a part of football, yes. You question Romero and Van de Ven starting, whether they were fully fit enough to start, and you lose two of your centre-backs.
“As soon as Dragusin comes in, he’s starting to show now maybe that the Premier League is a bit too much for him.”
Radu Dragusin should have started for Tottenham v Chelsea
Ange Postecoglou made a monumental error in his Tottenham team selection to face Chelsea – on what planet does starting two centre-backs fresh from injury in a London derby seem like a good idea?
Furthermore, the loss is in no part down to Dragusin, who has thrown straight into the deep end at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Jadon Sancho pegged a goal back for Chelsea with a fantastic long-range strike, and Enzo Fernandez gave the visitors the lead after Cole Palmer’s strike deflected kindly into his path.
Yves Bissouma and Pape Matar Sarr gave away two needless penalties, with the former committing his foul with Spurs holding a one-goal advantage, so where does Dragusin fit into all this?
Given the circumstances, the centre-back was solid against Chelsea; he won 75 per cent of his aerial duels and 50 per cent of his ground duels, all while making one tackle, one interception, two clearances and blocking two shots [Sofascore].
Dragusin also completed 89 per cent of his passes and 50 per cent of his long balls, with only 34 touches on the ball in North London.
Indeed, the defender ranks in the top 18 percentile of all centre-backs across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for blocks per game (1.57) [FBref].
The actual culprits for the loss are escaping the brunt of the criticism, while Dragusin is receiving the slack all because Spurs conceded four goals on the day – which admittedly is not ideal for any defender.
Postecoglou has thus inflicted further pressure upon his shoulders following another Premier League defeat, all because he wanted to rush back his preferred centre-back partnership into the side.
In other Tottenham news, a Spurs gem has been hailed as ‘perfect’ as a Championship loan move is mooted.
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