'Premature' - £27m Spurs signing's agent speaks out on exit links amid game time struggles

Speculation has emerged that Tottenham Hotspur defender Radu Dragusin could be on the move in January, despite the fact he joined the club just ten months ago for a fee in the region of £27m from Serie A club Genoa.

However, the Romania international’s agent has said that the defender is not looking to move away despite reports suggesting that Dragusin could join Napoli in the January transfer window.

Italian media outlet Calcio Napoli 24 reported that Dragusin’s agent Florin Manea denied any chance of a move away for the 22-year-old. He said: “I haven’t spoken to anyone, and I don’t think Tottenham want to let him go. Radu is focused and wants to play his chances with Spurs.

“I’ve seen the news too, but – I repeat – I haven’t heard from anyone. We like that many teams are following him, but I also told the others who called me that – to date – we are not interested.”

The reports of a move away appeared amid rumours that the Romanian defender is unhappy over his lack of consistent game time for Tottenham, as he is behind Micky van de Ven and Christian Romero in Ange Postecoglu’s pecking order.

Manea continued: “No player is happy if he doesn’t play a lot, but he wants to fight for his place. We’ll see later how many games he plays, and we’ll evaluate, at this moment it’s premature to think about a transfer.”

Radu Dragusin’s lack of opportunity at Tottenham Hotspur

The 22-year-old defender will be disappointed with his lack of game time at Spurs so far as he has only made 13 appearances since he joined in January. This season, Dragusin has made just two Premier League appearances with the most recent coming off the bench in Spurs’ 3-0 win over Manchester United in late September.

The Romanian has been in Postecoglu’s starting XI just once in the Premier League this season and it came in a 2-1 defeat at Newcastle at the start of September.

The biggest issue for Dragusin is the fact that both Van de Ven and Romero have been fantastic for Spurs this season meaning that it is unlikely that Postecoglu will drop either in favour of the 22-year-old.

He may need to take a chance during a cup game or European match such as if he is selected for Tottenham’s clash with Eredivisie side AZ Alkmaar on Thursday night in the Europa League. Dragusin’s contract at Spurs lasts until June 2030 when he will be 28-years-old, considering that the defender is on such a long-term deal, he must clearly be in Tottenham’s plans, but just maybe not in the near future amid the excellent form of Van de Ven and Romero this season.