Radu Dragusin: Why Tottenham are spending €30m on the 'Romanian Virgil van Dijk' who is proving Juventus wrong as Bayern Munich miss out

It's little surprise that Dragusin ended up being a professional sportsperson. Both of his parents represented Romania in their chosen field, with his father playing volleyball while his mother earned international honours in basketball.

Dragusin was not tempted by either of these pursuits, though. After his cousin introduced him to football, he joined local side Sportul Studentesc before moving on to Regal Sport Bucharest, a talent centre with close links to Atletico Madrid.

Los Rojiblancos failed to use this connection to their advantage, though. Instead it would be Juventus who snapped Dragusin up in 2018. Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain were interested too, but the Bianconeri acted quickly after he impressed during the second of two trials in Turin, paying €250,000 for Romania's Under-16 captain.

"My brother called me and told me there's a good young player [in Romania] and I sent him to see with his own eyes," Florin Manea, the agent who brokered Dragusin's move to Italy, told TMW. "He confirmed that initial impression by telling me he is a star, so I quickly reported to Juventus.

"After about an hour, Matteo Tognozzi, Juventus' chief scout, called me to say that Radu impressed everyone. Other teams were interested too, but the Bianconeri really wanted him. He asked me, 'Where can I become a great central defender?' Chelsea wanted him too, but that's why he chose Juventus."

In Turin, Dragusin gradually moved through the age groups, starting with the Under-17s and eventually being called up to the first-team in November 2020 for a clash against Lazio. He did not make it off the bench on that occasion, but did not have to wait too much longer for his senior debut, coming on in the second half of a comfortable Champions League victory over Dynamo Kyiv the following month.

As the 2020-21 season progressed, Dragusin continued to impress for the Under-23s and was rewarded with a maiden start in the Coppa Italia, eventually earning a new, four-year contract in the summer. GOAL understands that RB Leipzig tabled a lucrative offer too, but he instead opted to remain at Juventus and fight for his place.

After this, his career stagnated somewhat. He failed to impress during loan spells at Sampdoria and Salernitana, finding himself at a bit of a crossroads ahead of the 2022-23 campaign.

Dragusin would end up stepping down to Serie B with Genoa and the loan deal - which included an obligation to buy, with Andrea Cambiasso moving in the other direction - turned out to be exactly what he needed at that stage of his development.

Impressively, he would miss just 45 minutes of his new side's promotion-winning season, helping them record the second-best defensive record in the division and also chipping in with four goals.

His stunning club form also led to him nailing down a place in Romania's starting XI. Dragusin played each of his nation's 10 Euro 2024 qualifiers as they surprisingly topped Group I over top seeds Switzerland. Edward Iordanescu's team did so while conceding just five times - with Dragusin absolutely pivotal to this impressive record.

Since securing promotion back to the top-flight, Dragusin has helped his team settle back in Serie A. Heading into the winter break, Alberto Gilardino's charges sit 12th, albeit only six points clear of the relegation spots in what is a highly-congested bottom half of the table.

Dragusin's star has continued to rise in Genoa this season, with the Romanian one of just six Serie A outfield players to not miss a single second of action thus far. He's continued to offer a goal threat too, scoring twice. This included an important equaliser against leaders Inter in his side's final match of 2023.

Key to his improvement has been his strong relationship with manager Gilardino, who enjoyed a prolific scoring career at the likes of Parma, AC Milan and Fiorentina during his playing days. Speaking before Genoa's narrow Coppa Italia defeat to Roma in 2023, Dragusin said: "Gilardino has given us a lot confidence in our abilities, he told us to play with heart and give everything on the pitch."

Dragusin's best attribute is his ability in the air. At the time of writing, only one player has won more aerial duels than him in Serie A this season, and considering that man is six foot, six inch Hellas Verona striker Milan Duric, it's understandable why the 21-year-old doesn't have the top spot.

Dragusin's heading ability makes him a potent weapon from set-pieces, while his strength would seem to suit him well to the highly-physical Premier League. His love for nitty-gritty defending is also reflected in his clearance numbers, with only two Serie A players completing more thus far during the current campaign.

Dragusin is a highly adept tackler too. Although he is not a particularly active defender - the fact that he plays in the middle of Genoa's back three means he sits deeper than his two flanking team-mates - when he does have to make a challenge, he almost invariably comes out on top. Of the 232 Serie A players who attempted 15-plus tackles in the first half of the season, none had a better success rate (93.8 percent) than him.

While there are little doubts over Dragusin's ability as a nuts-and-bolts defender, it's more difficult to assess some of the more cosmopolitan aspects of his game. This season, Genoa have averaged the second-least amount of possession per match in the entire league (43.4%), with Gilardino regularly setting up his charges in a disciplined low block. This could not contrast more strikingly with the style that prospective new manager Postecoglou likes to play, with Tottenham regularly having over 60% of the ball during their Premier League matches.

Spurs' centre-backs are expected to be brave with their passing, too. Romero has averaged around 6.5 progressive passes per 90 minutes this term, over four times more what Dragusin has registered over the same period.

He is not the fastest either. With Tottenham playing an infamously high line, Dragusin's reading of the game will need to be perfect to avoid any unfortunate errors.

Back in 2020, Dragusin spoke to JuventusTV about his defensive idols. He gave two predictable choices in Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini, but also revealed how Virgil van Dijk had "inspired" him. It's easy to see why Dragusin would be such a big fan, with the Dutchman set to go down as one of the Premier League's best-ever defenders when he hangs up his boots, but are they really that alike?

Indeed, both are superb in the air and are fearsome physical presences, but Dragusin likely lacks the technical abilities of Van Dijk at this early point in his career.

Comparisons have also been drawn with another Premier League icon, Nemanja Vidic. Like the Serbian, Dragusin clearly relishes the less glamorous side of defending, so it's easy to see why they might be viewed as similar.

There's been little doubt that Dragusin's Genoa career would not be long one, with speculation rife over his future for some time. Towards the end of 2023, Genoa director Marco Ottolini conceded to Fanatik: "I want to say that 100% by next summer, Radu will play in a strong, very strong club. In the top 10 in the world. He wants to be in the Premier League."

His agent added fuel to the fire in November, saying: "I have been in London for some time and have almost weekly meetings with important teams. We are getting closer. I spoke with Newcastle, with Arsenal, with Tottenham. I also have messages with them, conversations. There are teams that ask [about Dragusin]."

In the end, the centre-back has ended up departing Genoa even sooner than most were expecting, with Tottenham's defensive injury crisis sparking them into action.

Although a couple of other clubs were linked, including Manchester United and Bayern, Spurs always seemed most in need of Dragusin, but he will no doubt need some time to adapt to the rigours of Postecoglou's high-octane style. That said, he's young and clearly hungry to make it in the Premier League, and considering the Australian has already done an impressive job improving several players in Spurs' squad, he may prove to be a very shrewd investment indeed.