Tottenham Hotspur have signed centre-back Radu Dragusin from Genoa.
The Athletic reported on Wednesday that Spurs had reached an agreement for the Romanian international, despite interest from Bayern Munich.
Dragusin, 21, has signed a contract until 2030 and will wear the No 6 shirt.
Djed Spence, meanwhile, has joined Genoa on loan as part of the deal.
Spence will now have his third loan spell away from Tottenham following on from periods at Rennes and Leeds United. Spurs will pay Spence’s wages for the duration of his loan and Genoa hold a €10m option to buy the full-back.
Spurs had prioritised signing a central defender this month with first-choice central defensive pairing Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven unavailable for long spells through injuries in the first half of the season.
Ange Postecoglou has been forced to play full-backs Emerson Royal and Ben Davies in central defensive positions in recent weeks and the Tottenham boss recently outlined his desire for a central defender to be recruited in January.
Eric Dier, who is out of contract this summer, has fallen out of favour under Postecoglou and is close to joining Bayern Munich, while teenager Ashley Phillips has been loaned to Championship club Plymouth Argyle for the remainder of the campaign.
Dragusin joined Genoa from Juventus, initially on a loan deal in the summer of 2022, and has played in all 57 league matches across that timeframe for Alberto Gilardino’s side.
Dragusin was a central figure for Genoa in their promotion from Serie B last season and has once again been an ever-present as the side sit 12th in the Italian top flight.
Spence was signed by Spurs in the summer of 2022 from Middlesbrough, having played a key part in Nottingham Forest’s promotion to the Premier League in the 2021-22 campaign.
The 23-year-old’s season-long loan deal at Elland Road was ended at the start of the month after being restricted to just one Championship appearance before December following a knee injury.
(Giuseppe Maffia/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
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