Tottenham’s attempts to revamp their options in defense have been threatened with sources telling ESPN that Napoli are trying to rival the north London club in the race to sign Genoa defender Radu Dragusin.
Tottenham are still in talks with Genoa over a fee for Dragosin, 21, who has expressed a willingness to move to north London, but the situation has been complicated by Napoli increasing their interest.
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Sources told ESPN that the Spurs plan to allow it Eric Dyer to leave once a suitable replacement has been signed – ideally Drăgusin – as the England defender has attracted significant interest from Bayern Munich.
Dier is in the final year of his contract with Tottenham and when asked if he would like to keep the defender, Postecoglou said: “Eric is under contract with this football club and he is in control of his own destiny like everyone else.”
Reports in Italy indicate Italian League A Reigning champions Napoli are prepared to make a player-plus-cash bid for Dragosin which could push the asking price beyond the £20m-£25m range in which Spurs had hoped to reach an agreement.
Talks are ongoing with a source confirming to ESPN that Dragosin’s agent is expected to hold further negotiations today and Spurs remain hopeful of completing the deal.
Tottenham are looking to sign at least one central defender this month with manager Ange Postecoglou hoping for quick action given Cristian Romero has joined Micky van de Ven on the sidelines and is not expected to play again until next month after suffering a hamstring injury.
Van de Ven is back in training and Postecoglou has not ruled out the Dutch defender playing some role in Friday’s FA Cup third round clash against Burnley.
In response to a question on Thursday about the possibility of signing a centre-back soon, Postecoglou said: “It is difficult to say because I am not involved in that aspect of the matter.”
“As I said before the net, we have some goals and some goals and we are working on achieving that.
“The people behind the scenes who are responsible for those areas are working to make that happen and my role in that is when I ask for guidance and clarity on the path we need to take, I provide that.”
