Tottenham have apparently made contact over signing an “excellent” World Cup player who Ange Postecoglou has historically chased.
Spurs seal much-needed centre-back signing
Last week, Spurs put pen to paper on a £25 million deal to sign defender Radu Dragusin from Genoa – which gave the club a much-needed boost for the second half of 2023/2024.
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The north Londoners were starved of alternative options to Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero, as evident when the pair were unavailable for large periods before January.
Van de Ven has just returned from the hamstring injury which kept him sidelined from early November, while Romero was sporadically absent due to suspensions and injuries of his own.
Postecoglou was forced to play a makeshift pairing of Emerson Royal and Ben Davies at points, but history repeating itself looks far less likely in that respect with Dragusin’s arrival at the club.
The Romanian made his debut off the bench in a 2-2 draw with Man United at Old Trafford last weekend, with Postecoglou explaining exactly why Spurs signed Dragusin beforehand.
“We spoke to as many people about him as possible and had him scouted again and I’ve been following him since we highlighted him,” said Postecoglou.
“In my mind once we got down to the real detail, I thought he was the best option for us. Before the window opened we made the decision that Radu would be our number one priority. I like his defensive attributes, his physical attributes, I there’s still a lot of growth in him.
“A lot of improvement in him. He’s only 21, only had one year in Serie A, not even a full year and he fits the profile of the kind of players we want here.”
However, despite Dragusin coming to north London, it is believed Postecoglou is planning to overhaul his defence further this year. It is believed Spurs have an interest in Napoli star Leo Ostigard, and Tottenham have also been linked with a move for Bologna star Riccardo Calafiori.
Now, as per Sky Sports Germany, another centre-back in Borussia Monchengladbach’s Ko Itakura has admirers at N17.
Tottenham put out feelers for Itakura
According to the broadcaster, Tottenham have put out feelers over signing Itakura in 2024, with both Postecoglou’s side and Liverpool “vying” for the Japan international.
Itakura, who featured at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, was actually chased by Postecoglou during his time at Celtic. The 26-year-old has only made seven Bundesliga appearances this season due to injury, but that hasn’t deterred Tottenham who are said to be fans.
Itakura has also been called an “excellent” addition to the Gladbach defence by members of the press, since his arrival at the club in 2022 from Man City.