Despite spending upwards of €25m on Radu Dragusin, Tottenham have yet to use the centre-back from the off, with Ange Postecoglou making it clear they will take their time with the 22-year-old.
The Romania international’s transfer to Spurs continues to be the talk of the town in his home country, but there are some who are trying to calm the hype down a bit.
Costel Pantilimon, who knows English football well, spoke to GSP about the centre-back’s transfer to Tottenham, and explained how things work in the Premier League compared to other championships.
He said: “Be patient. There’s a lot of talk at the moment, everyone expected him to come in and get into the first XI. That’s not the process. We’re talking about a fairly young player who had a pretty good run in Italy, but as the manager said, he’s made the step up to a bigger team where the competition is there every day in training and in games. It’s clear the investment made by Tottenham will not be wasted.
Prior to his move to Tottenham, Dragusin had managed to make 19 appearances in Serie A for Genoa this season, scoring two goals and assisting another, showcasing a composure often lacking in a player his age.
That’s what drew Spurs, among other things, to make the move early and beat the competition, which is why they are taking their time with him, likely waiting until next season to use him more consistently as a starter in order to give him six months to adapt.
Costel Pantilimon, down his end, spent many years in England, first transferring to Manchester City, before spending time at Sunderland, Watford and Nottingham Forest.
