Danny Murphy was left thoroughly impressed by Radu Dragusin’s performance in Romania’s Euros opener on Monday, insisting that the centre-back has all the attributes to thrive in the Premier League.
Radu Dragusin makes impressive start to Euro 2024 with Romania
Tottenham fans have not seen much of Dragusin since his move from Genoa in January, with the 22-year-old having to bide his time as Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven are ahead of him in the pecking order at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last season.
However, when the defender did come into the side towards the end of the season, he showed plenty of promise, demonstrating that he is more than capable of thriving at the Premier League level.
Spurs fans would be even more encouraged by what they saw from Dragusin in Romania’s 3-0 win over Ukraine, with the Tottenham man hardly putting a foot wrong at the Allianz Arena.
Former Wales and Swansea City defender Ashley Williams was thoroughly impressed by the centre-back and admitted that he liked seeing the player celebrate his defensive interventions.
On a flying block, Dragusin made before roaring at the Romanian fans behind the goal, he said on BBC Sport‘s live broadcast (18/6/24): “He’s a little bit out of position but the desire to get back in front of the striker, and he celebrated this and he should celebrate it. I’m happy for him.
“He had a great day today and as a former centre-half myself we don’t get the chance to score that many goals but that’s our bread and butter and if you do that it gives the better players in the team a chance to win it.”
A central trio of Dragusin, van de Ven and Romero would be formidable
Murphy remarked that Dragusin showcased all the qualities needed to thrive in English football at Munich on Monday.
Speaking about the Spurs man’s performance, he said: “I actually thought that his performance deserves plaudits because he was outstanding and the Tottenham fans watching that will be really pleased because they haven’t seen much of him. His capability is there though and he’s going to be a decent player, he’s perfect for the Premier League.”
When host Mark Chapman suggested that Ange Postecoglou could use a back three of Dragusin alongside Romero and Van de Ven, Murphy admitted: “You wouldn’t want to play against those three. I think he epitomised everything good about Romania today.”
Spurs Web Opinion
While Dragusin’s physical and defensive attributes were not in doubt, the 22-year-old showed on Monday that he also has the temperament and composure needed to perform at the highest level in a high-pressure environment, which bodes well for the future.
We saw towards the end of last season that he looked comfortable alongside Cristian Romero when van de Ven was asked to operate at left-back in place of the injured Destiny Udogie.
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