Tottenham Hotspur are close to an agreement to sign Genoa defender Radu Dragusin with Djed Spence offered to the Italian club on loan as part of the deal.
The Athletic reported on Tuesday last week that Tottenham were in talks with Genoa over a move for Dragusin and they are now close to the transfer after lodging a £25million offer, including add-ons.
Spence returned to Spurs last week after his season-long loan deal at Championship club Leeds United was cut short after the full-back was restricted to just seven Championship appearances after suffering a knee injury.
Signing a central defender was a priority for Spurs during this transfer window, with Dragusin considered alongside Lloyd Kelly, Tosin Adarabioyo and Jean-Clair Todibo as potential options.
Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero, Spurs’ first-choice centre-backs, have dealt with injuries and suspensions in the first half of the season, meaning head coach Ange Postecoglou has had to use full-backs Ben Davies and Emerson Royal out of position. Eric Dier, meanwhile, has fallen out of favour and made only four league appearances this season.
Dragusin has played every Serie A game this season for Genoa as they sit 12th in the table. The 21-year-old was an integral part of their team which won promotion from Serie A last term, featuring in all 38 league matches having initially joined on loan from Juventus in the summer of 2022.
Dragusin previously had loan spells at Sampdoria and Salernitana during the 2021-22 campaign, before dropping down to Serie B last season.
He has been capped 13 times by Romania and will likely feature for his country at Euro 2024, after they secured qualification last year.
(Simone Arveda/Getty Images)
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