The north London side are desperate to add to their defensive options having seen their squad ravaged by injuries and suspension in recent weeks to cast a large shadow on their impressive progress made this season. Indeed, the eight wins and two draws Tottenham enjoyed under Postecoglou represented the best start made to a season by any new manager in the Premier League.
However, their unbeaten run was put to the sword on a painful early November night at home to bogey side Chelsea, that not only saw Spurs finish the game with nine men, but also saw arguably their two best players in James Maddison and Micky van de Ven sustain relatively-serious injuries.
The loss of both was certainly a cruel blow and while Maddison’s loss has been badly felt, Tottenham do have the attacking options to at least cover the playmaker’s absence.
It was a different story for pacy Dutchman Van de Ven, who hamstring injury came at the exact same time Postecoglou lost Cristian Romero to suspension. As a result, the Spurs boss has been forced to field a makeshift backline with full-backs Ben Davies and Emerson Royal partnering up as an emergency centre-half duo.
As a result, the January window could not come soon enough for Postecoglou, who has made clear his wish to strengthen Tottenham’s squad.
A second deal, this time for Genoa defender Dragusin, was also close to being done too. After days of negotiations, Tottenham had established themselves on pole position for his signing after outbidding fellow suitors Napoli and having also agreed personal terms with the Romania defender.
Having sweetened the deal on Tuesday morning by striking an initial €25m agreement and sending the Serie A side Djed Spence on loan, it was reported later in the day that the 21-year-old was set to fly to London to finalise the agreement and become the club’s second signing of the January window.
However, in one of the more ‘Spursy’ moves of the window, it seems the rug is about to be pulled from under their feet with Bayern Munich now springing into action for the defender.
And according to trusted transfer source, Fabrizio Romano, Bayern’s proposal is slightly higher than Spurs’ bid – an offer which Genoa have been quick to accept.
Interestingly, Romano states at this moment in time that ‘Tottenham remain confident’ of sealing his signing, having previously agreed personal terms with the player.
But there is now a huge element of doubt over their chances of landing the highly-rated 21-year-old given Bayern’s all-but guaranteed yearly place in the Champions League. Thomas Tuchel’s side are among the favourites to win the tournament this season, with their campaign resuming with a round-of-16 tie against Lazio next month.
As a result, it would be foolhardy to suggest Dragusin will not give their offer a serious consideration, with the move now very much down to the player to decide.
Tottenham could see Eric Dier transfer collapse
Bayern’s need for a new centre-half this month has been well documented and Tuchel’s side have been linked with a range of options from Trevoh Chalobah of Chelsea, Barcelona’s Ronald Araujo and Raphael Varane of Manchester United.
Despite those three links, the one they had apparently settled on was Tottenham’s Eric Dier, with the former England international told he was free to leave N17 after slipping down Postecoglou’s plans.
As a result – and thanks to Harry Kane’s influence – Bayern had negotiated a bargain €3.5m (£3m) move with Tottenham to bring the 29-year-old to Bavaria.
However, their potential hijacking of the Dragusin deal may not only seriously dent Tottenham’s transfer plans, but it could also bring an end to Bayern’s planned purchase of Dier at the same time.
That double whammy would prove difficult to take, especially as far as Dragusin is concerned, though there still remains time left in the window for Dier to fix himself up with another club should his move to the Allianz Arena collapse.
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