Tottenham: Ange Postecoglou must be patient with Radu Dragusin after what was said about him
Tottenham supporters and Ange Postecoglou must ensure they do not judge Radu Dragusin too quickly after the Romanian’s performance against Fulham.
Spurs found themselves short of centre-backs in January and as a result, they went shopping, paying Serie A side Genoa £26.7million for Dragusin’s signature (Sky Sports News, 12 January 2023).
He was brought into the club to act as cover for Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero and after the former went off injured in Spurs’ 4-0 win against Aston Villa, Dragusin was handed his first real opportunity to make an impression in North London.
However, his first start in Tottenham colours did not go to plan as Postecoglou’s side were beaten 3-0 by Fulham at Craven Cottage (16 March), representing a massive setback in the club’s hopes of qualifying for the UEFA Champions League.
Despite the difficulties Dragusin faced that day, Owen Hargreaves was still full of praise for the 22-year-old while speaking on Premier League Productions (via TBR Football, 20 March).
The ex-Manchester United midfielder said about Dragusin, “Especially in someone’s first start in the Premier League, we know how tough this league is.
“He’s a brilliant player and he’s going to be a really good player, but it’s a lot of pressure on someone who isn’t used to playing in a game at this level”.
Ange Postecoglou must be patient with Radu Dragusin at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Moving from a foreign league to play in England’s top flight is never easy, and it is even more difficult for Dragusin considering the defender is just 22 years of age.
He will need time to acclimatise to the Premier League and continue settling into his surroundings, and judging him off his performance against Fulham would be particularly harsh.
None of the Tottenham players were at it that day, and Fulham’s dominance in midfield made things incredibly difficult for Dragusin who, on paper, didn’t even have the worst of matches.
As per Sofascore, he was not dribbled past once, while he made five clearances, blocked two shots and made two interceptions.
Although he only managed to win one of his three aerial duels and 60 per cent of his ground duels, his defensive work was still relatively sold for a young player making their first Premier League start.
Dragusin did play a few wayward passes, but he still managed an overall accuracy of 91 per cent, while also completing 100 per cent of his long balls forward.
He did miss one big chance, but considering Dragusin is not in the team to score goals, it shouldn’t take too much for Postecoglou to forgive the Romania international for that mistake.
Plenty of more experienced Spurs players let themselves down against Fulham, and Tottenham supporters must ensure they do not judge Dragusin off one subpar performance.
In other Tottenham news, a pundit has tipped one Spurs forward to quit the club this summer.
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