Should Tottenham be looking to sell £26.7m squad player this summer? – Opinion

With Thomas Frank taking charge of the proceedings at Tottenham Hotspur stadium, he will be looking to reshape the roster at Hotspur Way as he looks to build the squad in more of a manner that suits the strengths of his structure, and this is where one of the earlier decisions during his tenure at N17 could end up affecting Radu Dragusin and his time at Tottenham.

The Romanian was signed a couple of winters back owing to his impressive performances in Serie A, but the January signing hasn’t come through with respect to his expectations just yet, and now he finds himself slipping down the pecking order.

Now the latest report from TBR Football’s chief correspondent, Graeme Bailey, who indicates that the Lilywhites are open to selling the Romanian international in the ongoing summer transfer window, and with new defensive reinforcements expected at Tottenham, it does look like a sensible move for the North Londoners to part ways with Radu.

But it is not as easy as it sounds; let’s try to put Dragusin situation into details…

The 23-year-old signed for Tottenham in a deal worth £26.7m from Serie A side Genoa, and he was brought in as someone who’d give that much-needed depth and physical presence at centre-back. But then as he started getting some minutes with Micky van de Ven injuries, it started becoming more clear that he is yet to get used to the rhythm of the Premier League. And then we saw his many teams expose his ball-playing limitations, especially in the North Londoners first-phase build-up play.

And then we saw how he couldn’t adapt to playing in a high line defence under Ange Postecoglou (which would not be a big cause of concern within the corridors of Hotspur Way these days given Thomas Frank has taken charge of the proceedings at Tottenham). But then he also struggled to play with aggressive full-backs (like Pedro Porro or Destiny Udogie), which more often than not left him isolated in transitional phases.

Even more telling is how Kevin Danso, who arrived mid-season, has jumped ahead of him in the pecking order.

Now, in a sense, Dragusin is now behind Romero, Van de Ven, Danso, and potentially even Archie Gray in terms of where he is at Tottenham. And then the likes of Luka Vuskovic, Ashley Phillips, and Kota Takai, all of whom are within the corridors at Hotspur Way demanding more game time to define their skill set.

Is Radu Dragusin a tactical mismatch under Thomas Frank?

Thomas Frank likes to build up play from the back and have that controlled aggression when it comes to duels. He likes defenders who can play out under pressure and then have that discipline to hold a mid-block.

And while Dragusin gives you that force and aerial solidity, he lacks that composure in tight passing sequences and consistency when it comes to his positional awareness playing in a high line.

Frank also wants his centre-backs to have a sense of positional recovery given how he wants his back line to support wing-backs who are pushing high.

And then there is squad planning…

With Ashley Phillips, Vuskovic, and Takai now part of the centre-back conversation and that added to the potential of bringing in a new defender still on the table, suddenly we start seeing that the Romanian’s path to minutes is getting dimmer. Add in the fact that he is reportedly agitating for more minutes (didn’t we all see how his agent was in the ears of the media after every game that he didn’t start?). And at the moment I think there is still that likelihood that Tottenham will get a decent resale value, especially from a Serie A or Bundesliga club that favours his profile.

More Tottenham Hotspur News:

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• TTLB Opinion: Tottenham target Branthwaite and Guehi – but who makes more sense?
• TTLB Opinion: Should Tottenham be worried about Van de Ven to Real Madrid or is it all agent talks?

Author Opinion

Yes, I do believe that Tottenham should try to sell Dragusin and try to get their investment in him back. And selling him also allows Frank to have that space to accommodate the players he likes and all while giving more room in the squad for high-rated talents like Vuskovic and Phillips. This also avoids internal unrest from someone in the dressing room who is growing ever more unhappy with his role.

But that being said, the North Londoners can’t simply flog him on a cheap deal given how Dragusin is still young and has that Premier League experience and international class.

On paper, I still believe that Dragusin was a sensible signing but now looks an out-of-tactically and culturally suited player at Hotspur Way.