Former Romanian international Ioan Andone has said that Radu Dragusin has the attributes necessary to be successful at Tottenham and called on the centre-back to keep working hard in training and to show Ange Postecoglou that he deserved to play.
Dragusin arrived at Spurs on the back of an exceptional 18-month spell at Genoa but the centre-back’s growth curve has been blunted a bit since his move.
The 22-year-old has made just two starts since signing for the Lilywhites, with Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven continuing to be ahead of him in the pecking order.
The Romanian is still getting used to the Premier League and to Ange Postecoglou’s system, with Andone now insisting that this transitional experience at Spurs will be good for the youngster’s development.
The pundit told Digi Sport about Dragusin: “He’s an exceptional player, especially at this young age, when he can still accumulate knowledge. He succeeded in the Italian championship and now he has to get used to the pace in the Premier League, where the level is above Serie A.”
Radu Dragusin needs time at Tottenham
Andone pointed out that it would be difficult for the centre-back to prove his value to Postecoglou if he does not get a run of starts under his belt.
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He continued: “I say he needs time to settle in! He has all the qualities to become a starter at Tottenham. It’s hard to get into your rhythm when you play one stage, then 20 minutes or sit on the bench.”
Andone suggested that Dragusin would have been well aware of the difficulty of the challenge he faced when he decided to make the move to the North London side.
The 64-year-old added: “I’m convinced he works hard and knows what he has to do. That’s what he has to do: work. A very good centre-back doesn’t need extraordinary talent, but hard work. He doesn’t live on talent, he lives on work. I think he’ll be fine, but we don’t know how long that will last.
“I think with him there can’t be a confidence problem. I think he realised before he signed that he wasn’t going to be a starter. He has to fight for his place and be better every day.”
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We might not see the best of Dragusin until next season after he has had a pre-season under his belt with Postecoglou and his staff. Unless there is an injury to Romero or Van de Ven, the former Genoa man might not start another match this season.
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