Tottenham’s chances of landing Genoa defender Radu Dragusin may have been handed a boost as Napoli’s initial offer for the player has also been rejected.
That’s according to Sacha Tavolieri, who covers the situation around the defender today as Tottenham and Napoli battle for his signature.
Spurs are keen to add a central defender to their squad this month, with manager Ange Postecoglou having publically admitted that’s an area they’re looking at because of injuries to Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero.
They’ve been pushing for a move for Dragusin as a result but are yet to strike an agreement with Genoa, who are holding out for a big price for one of their key players.
That’s led to fears they could miss out, with Napoli having also made their move as President Aurelio de Laurentiis looks to bolster the Serie A champions.
Tavolieri provides a positive update of sorts today, though, explaining that Napoli’s initial offer for the defender has been countered by Genoa.
The Serie A champions first offer was €20m plus Alessandro Zanoli and Leo Østigård but Genoa rebuffed that and instead demanded €25m plus Zanoli and Østigård on loan as they don’t want him permanently at this point.
Napoli’s offer is better than Tottenham’s at this point, with Spurs only offer €18m to date. They are, though, ‘planning to make a second offer soon’ for the defender.
Dragusin’s preference would be to play in the Premier League so Tottenham have the advantage there and the window of opportunity may have now been presented to them after Napoli’s first offer was turned down.
Either way, it’s clear if they want the defender they need to move quickly, as Napoli aren’t playing around and are willing to offer various solutions to Genoa to ensure they get their man.
