Dragusin transfer: Tottenham beat Bayern for three reasons after ‘desperate’ Levy pleaded until ‘3am’

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·12 January 2024

Dragusin transfer: Tottenham beat Bayern for three reasons after ‘desperate’ Levy pleaded until ‘3am’

Radu Dragusin has signed for Tottenham Hotspur.

A detailed report from The Athletic has revealed why Radu Dragusin opted to sign for Tottenham Hotspur over Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich.

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It’s been made clear in recent months that Tottenham‘s top priority for this month’s transfer window was to sign a new centre-back.

They have been short of options at centre-back at the start of this season and their situation has worsened in recent months as Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero suffered injuries.

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Spurs swiftly placed their focus on signing Dragusin from Serie A outfit Genoa and they were initially leading the race to land him despite interest from Italian giants AC Milan and Napoli.

Tottenham seemed to have been dealt a major blow in the 11th hour of their pursuit of Dragusin as Bayern Munich attempted to pull off a hijack.

In the end, Dragusin opted to stand by his agreement with Tottenham and finalise his move to the Premier League outfit. He is in line to make his debut on Sunday afternoon as they visit Old Trafford to face Manchester United.

A report from The Athletic reveals ‘Tottenham were desperate not to miss out on a player they had prioritised for this window’ so ‘Daniel Levy and technical director Johan Lange worked until 3am on Wednesday, making every possible effort to persuade the player to come to Spurs and get the move over the line’.

In terms of alternatives, it’s claimed Spurs have ‘liked Marc Guehi for years’ but Crystal Palace ‘were never going to sell him this month’. They also had their eye on OGC Nice’s Jean-Clair Todibo but it ‘would have cost £50m’ so they ‘looked at Dragusin instead’.

It is noted that Dragusin ‘pulled out of training on Tuesday so that he would not get injured and jeopardise the deal’ and ‘it was down to him to choose between the agreement he made with Spurs the previous week and the new last-minute proposal from Bayern’. Regarding why he chose the Premier League side, the report explains.

‘On the one hand, Dragusin had his agreement with Tottenham, the knowledge of where he would fit into Postecoglou’s plans, his long-standing dream of playing in the Premier League and a genuine chance to continue to play first-team football. ‘On the other, he had the glamour of Bayern, competing for the German title (which would be their 12th in a row), into the knockout phase of the Champions League, and with a chance to earn a higher salary than he would in London. ‘It was a difficult call and the fact that Levy and Lange had to work through the night, as Tuesday became Wednesday, is proof of how the outcome was not inevitable. Tottenham had to work desperately hard to complete the deal and make sure that they did not lose out on his signature. ‘And in the end, Dragusin decided to stick with his initial commitment to join Spurs. He remembered from his time at Juventus what it was like to be on the fringes at a superclub, having to drop back down a level to work his way back up. And as attractive as Bayern was, he felt more wanted by Tottenham.’