The folly of Tottenham‘s decision to gamble on the fitness of Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero has been badly exposed, with Ange Postecoglou making do with a back four comprised solely of full-backs in recent times.
Van de Ven and Romero instantly struck up a rock-solid partnership, but haven’t played together since that November nightmare against Chelsea due to injuries and suspension.
With Eric Dier all but out of the picture and Davinson Sanchez sold to Galatasaray after the summer transfer window had closed, Spurs require defensive reinforcements quickly to ensure the progress made in the first half of the campaign doesn’t dissipate in the second.
Postecoglou has confirmed that adding a defender to his squad quickly this month is a “priority” and Daniel Levy seems to agree, with a deal for Genoa’s Radu Dragusin being pursued. Spurs have reportedly agreed personal terms with the 21-year-old Romanian but haven’t yet matched the Serie A club’s €30m (£26m) asking price.
Romanian football journalist Emanuel Rosu believes that fee would be a “bargain” for a player who would be “perfectly suited to the Premier League”.
“He is a monster,” Rosu tells i.
“He is great in the air, has great mental strength – he doesn’t get beaten easily even if he makes a mistake. He is elegant, smart, has decent speed and ball control. He is a really smart bloke, a modern defender who adapts to his team’s needs and to the opponents’ qualities.”
He is, by the sounds of it, perfect for Postecoglou and adaptable to Angeball. The Australian has made a raft of tactical changes since taking charge of Spurs, many of which involve the team’s central defenders.
They have to be comfortable at squeezing up the pitch and bold enough to leave vast spaces behind them by adopting a high defensive line.
Having defenders who are both proactive and aggressive in trying to win the ball by the halfway line and are quick enough to sprint back toward their own goal if the ball is played behind them is pivotal to the ploy working.
Based on Dragusin’s statistics for the season, he should slot in well. According to WhoScored, Dragusin has the highest tackle success rate (93.8 per cent) of any player in Serie A this season to have attempted at least 15 and has only been dribbled past once. That indicates that the Romanian not only relishes physical duels but is adept at winning them. Given Spurs’ disciplinary issues, it is worth noting he only has one yellow card to his name this season.
He is also strong in the air having won more aerial duels than any other defender in Serie A and has scored twice this season including in a 1-1 draw with league leaders Inter last week. With Romero currently sidelined with a hamstring injury, Spurs lack a dominant presence at the back; Dragusin could help to fill that void. And crucially given Spurs’ high line he is quick across the ground too.
“I look at him and see in him many of the things Virgil van Dijk is fantastic at,” Rosu says, which will be music to Spurs supporters’ ears.
Postecoglou’s centre-backs must also play out from the back and be confident enough in their technique to bait the opposition press, ie invite pressure on themselves. It is why Romero in particular often stands almost stationary with his studs on top of the ball, tempting an opponent to press before passing it into the gap they have left behind.
This is where Dragusin is more of an unknown. He has played in a Genoa team that is more Antonio Conte in style than Ange Postecoglou; they generally use a 3-5-2 formation and tend to have less of the ball than their opponents, ranking 18th in the league for possession. Dragusin is accomplished on the ball but that is an area he could improve on, along with his “judgement of certain moments”, according to Rosu.
Postecoglou will be unconcerned that Dragusin is not the finished product. Numerous players have developed and adapted their games rapidly in just six months working with the Australian, most notably Pedro Porro and Pape Matar Sarr, and the collective work-rate of the team has often helped to compensate for individual errors. Guglielmo Vicario also played behind a low block at Empoli but has excelled as a sweeper-keeper in north London.
Dragusin, like Van de Ven who is 10 months his senior, fits the mould of being both first-team ready but having plenty of room to evolve. Postecoglou will hope that Dragusin can slot in as seamlessly as the Dutchman has and with Van de Ven nearing a return from a serious hamstring injury, the duo may even be paired together for the trip to Manchester United on 14 January.
Spurs’ recent success rate when buying players deemed expendable by Juventus will also offer some encouragement over Dragusin’s prospects.
Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski have flourished at Spurs after falling out of favour at Juve, while Romero didn’t play a single game for the Italian giants after joining from Genoa.
Dragusin’s career progression is not dissimilar to Romero’s. He moved from Bucharest to Turin at just 16 but earned his experience elsewhere, taking in loan spells at Salernitana, Sampdoria and Genoa, whom he joined permanently after promotion to the top-flight last summer. He made only four competitive appearances for The Old Lady.
“He made his debut there, but Juve didn’t believe in him strongly enough,” Rosu says.
“He took responsibility, went to Salernitana, but wanted more and apparently took a step back by joining Genoa.
“He had the courage to leave Juve and look after [his] playing time. Juve would have kept him as a squad player, that’s for sure, but he was not pleased just to get the money [and not play].”
Spurs have managed to keep themselves in top-four contention despite having the spine of their team decimated by injury and suspension.
They will hope that greater squad depth can help consolidate their position in the Champions League spots. Adding Dragusin at the start of the window would no doubt boost their ambitions.
from Football - inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/jwLibNe
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