Tottenham have concluded the £25m signing of Radu Dragusin from Genoa, with Ange Postecoglou completing a central defensive reshuffle by letting Eric Dier move to Bayern Munich. Dragusin has been Postecoglou’s No 1 January target and Spurs have beaten off late competition from Bayern to land their man for an initial £21.5m.
Spurs have loaned Djed Spence to Genoa until the end of the season as a part of the package and will pay all of the full-back’s wages. There is an option for Genoa to buy Spence, who spent the first half of the season on loan at Leeds, for £8.5m in the summer.
Spurs have already completed a loan move for the RB Leipzig striker Timo Werner as they answer Postecoglou’s call for early January business. They are also interested in the Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher, although he may prove too expensive. Postecoglou could move on Bryan Gil, Pierre-Emile Højbjerg and Sergio Reguilón, who has returned from a loan at Manchester United.
Dragusin is a Romania international, who moved to Juventus in 2018 at a time when Fabio Paratici was prominent at the Serie A club. Paratici continues to work in a consultancy role at Spurs. Dragusin had loans at Sampdoria and Salernitana before going to Genoa last season, initially on loan. The 21-year-old was outstanding as they were promoted from Serie B and he has continued to impress with his imposing style in Serie A. He has signed a contract at Spurs to 2030.
Dragusin’s agent, Florin Manea, told Romanian media: “We can’t believe we turned down Bayern. Radu had given his word to Spurs and chose to respect this. There was more money from Bayern but Radu said that this [Spurs] is the right step in his career. Maybe in the future, we will get there [to Bayern].”
Dier arrived in Munich on Thursday morning to complete the formalities of his switch, including the medical. He had agreed the outline of the move last week and it is a stunning upturn in his fortunes, after being on the fringes this season.
The 29-year-old, who joined Spurs in the summer of 2014 from Sporting, had entered the final six months on his contract and was not going to sign another one at the club. It had been considered unlikely he would get a move he wanted this month, making his departure as a free agent in the summer inevitable. Then Bayern stepped in. Spurs said that the deal was an initial loan with an option to buy.
“He’s a specialist at centre-back,” said the Bayern manager, Thomas Tuchel. “He has also played as a No 6 in the Premier League but not for a long time. We’re getting him for the centre-back position. He can play right or left centre-back as well as in a back three. We got him mainly so Leon Goretzka can be free to play in midfield and doesn’t have to switch to centre-back any more.”
Dier was asked on his arrival in Munich whether he was looking forward to playing for Bayern. “Very much, very much,” he said, with a smile. “Amazing club … amazing.”
