Genoa’s sporting director Marco Ottolini has rubbished the reports suggesting that Newcastle United have made an offer for Radu Dragusin, who has been heavily linked with a move to Tottenham.
With Spurs thought to be on the lookout for reinforcements at the heart of their defence in the wake of Micky van de Ven’s hamstring injury, it has been widely reported over the last few weeks that the Lilywhites are keeping an eye on the former Juventus player (Mirko Di Natale).
The defender’s agent Florin Manea even admitted recently that he has met with multiple English clubs over the prospect of a transfer, including Tottenham (Fanatik).
However, Romanian outlet Digi Sport claimed on November 27 that Newcastle had become the ‘first team to act’, with the Magpies said to have submitted a written £26m offer to the Serie A club for the player.
Transfer reports denied
Ottolini has now stated that Genoa have not received any offer for Dragusin, insisting that the club have no intention of letting the defender leave in the upcoming transfer window.
However, the Genoa director did confirm that a number of clubs from around the continent have made contact over recent weeks to ask about the availability of the Juventus academy graduate.
When asked about the reported bid from Newcastle for Dragusin, Ottolini told DAZN (as relayed by HITC): “There isn’t any type of offer. We are absolutely not thinking about (selling him).
“We’re not thinking about the January transfer market. But it’s clear that a player born in 2002 – with this physicality, this speed and these characteristics – is being looked at by all of Europe. There are many people with whom we have weekly contact.”
Spurs Web Opinion
Despite Ottolini’s posturing, I would think that Genoa would find it difficult to turn down any offer of over £30m, given the kind of budget they work with. Dragusin appears well on his way to becoming one of the best centre-backs in Serie A, with the 21-year-old looking more and more accomplished with each game.
I would expect at least a couple of Premier League clubs to be willing to take a punt on Dragusin in January as the defender’s value looks likely to go up substantially in the next six months to a year.