Romanian journalist Calin Mates has explained that Daniel Levy had to intervene and offer Radu Dragusin a higher salary than he initially planned to in order to see off competition from Bayern Munich.
It has been widely reported over the past few weeks that Tottenham had to overcome Bayern’s late charge to land Dragusin, with some outlets suggesting that Ange Posteocglou’s conversation with Radu about how he would fit into Spurs’ system was a crucial factor in him picking the Lilywhites (The Times).
Soon after arriving at Hotspur Way, the 21-year-old himself opened up on his decision to choose Tottenham over Bayern, stating that he felt it would be the right move for him, partly because the club had shown interest in him for quite a while (The Athletic).
Tottenham had to increase salary offer to land Dragusin
Mates has now explained that following Bayern’s efforts to hijack the Dragusin deal, Spurs had to offer the former Genoa man a higher salary in order to persuade him to join the club.
The journalist told Romanian outlet Digispor: “At the moment, the highest paid is Heung-min Son, who is on £195-200k a week. Dragusin has around £50-60k per week. What I can tell you is that it is more than we would have expected, it is a bit more than Tottenham would have expected to offer.
“We have learned that Tottenham have slightly increased their bid in the context of Bayern Munich’s offer. They said: ‘OK, if he shows loyalty, if he shows that he keeps his word to come we will reward him’. This is where Daniel Levy intervened, he gave him a six-year contract. This contract means: ‘I give you more money, but you also give me an extra year’. That means somewhere around €3m for Dragusin’s contract.
“There’s a signing amount, but it’s not impressive. For Romania it is impressive, but for England, it is not. It is somewhere between €500k and €1m.”
Spurs Web Opinion
£50k-£60k is a modest salary for a sought-after young centre-back like Dragusin but we know the way Spurs operate is to give players regular raises if they perform well. I would not be surprised if the Romanian is offered an improved contract within a year or two if he hits the ground running at the club.