Tottenham loanee Radu Dragusin has walked straight into a difficult situation at Fiorentina, with three defeats already leading to a managerial change.
His agent Florin Manea isn’t surprised Fabio Grosso has been sacked. He has also admitted Dragusin’s own start in Florence had him worried.
The Romanian left Tottenham this summer in search of regular football after a difficult couple of years in London. His first few appearances haven’t exactly gone according to plan either.
Not surprised by Fiorentina decision
Fiorentina sit bottom of Serie A after losing all three of their opening matches. They have also conceded plenty of goals, hardly the ideal environment for Dragusin to settle back into Italian football.
The situation has already cost Grosso his job, with Paolo Vanoli expected to replace him.
“Vanoli? I’ve heard of him, but I don’t know him,” Manea told Digi Sport. “After the results they’ve had and the amount of goals they’ve conceded, I’m not surprised by the decision to sack Grosso.”
“A decision had to be made, to give the team a shock,” he said.
Manea’s concerns weren’t limited to Fiorentina as a whole. He wasn’t entirely happy with what he had seen from Dragusin either, particularly in the defeat to Frosinone.
“Radu has recovered, he played well in the last match. I was worried too,” he said.
“Against Roma, I didn’t think he played such a bad game, but then against Frosinone it wasn’t good at all.”
“I went to his house for about three days and we talked. We sorted things out and he’s going to play very well. Don’t forget these were his first matches after a year and a half.”
The centre-back spent long periods out of Tottenham’s side and then suffered a serious knee injury in early 2025. It meant he arrived at Fiorentina needing matches as much as anything else.
“It’s normal to somehow lose your bearings, speed and confidence,” Manea explained.
“Everyone has expectations of him, and rightly so. What happened against Frosinone woke everyone up, including Radu and me. I said: ‘Mate, this can’t be happening.'”
Tottenham man already showing improvement
Manea believes those conversations have already had an effect. The agent was much happier with Dragusin’s performance against Torino and believes the defender is starting to look like himself again.
“He was at 80% of what I want in the last match, against Torino. He had a stellar performance,” the agent said.
“Aggressive, everything you need, but it was only his third match. It’s going to be much better from now on.”
Tottenham have good reason to keep an eye on what happens next. Fiorentina paid €1.5m (£1.3m) for the loan, while the agreement includes a conditional obligation to make the move permanent for another €17.5m (£15.2m).
Former Romania international Cosmin Contra certainly believes the move should ultimately benefit Dragusin.
“How much did Radu Dragusin play at Tottenham? Or how many chances will he have at Fiorentina? I think he’ll play much more at Fiorentina,” Contra told Digi Sport.
“The move is for the good of his career and for the good of the national team. He has a much better chance of starting at Fiorentina than at Tottenham.”
For Dragusin, that was the whole point of leaving Spurs. His new club’s start has been far messier than anyone involved would have wanted, and the managerial change now gives him another adjustment to make.
