Radu Dragusin has no plans to leave Tottenham Hotspur during the January transfer window, according to his agent.
The Romania international is closing in on a year in North London having been signed from Genoa at the start of 2024.
Although Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven are the standout centre-back partnership at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the hope had been that Dragusin would provide competition and added quality in equal measure.
However, the 22-year-old has been limited to just seven starts and six substitute outings in the Premier League, a further five appearances coming in all competitions.
Spurs have only kept one clean sheet this season in a game where Dragusin has completed the 90 minutes, that being the 1-0 win over AZ Alkmaar in the Europa League.
Agent responds to Dragusin speculation
With Dragusin yet to make a positive impression in England, speculation has emerged regarding a potential return to Serie A with the likes of Napoli and Juventus.
The latter, in particular, are in need of defensive reinforcements with Gleison Bremer and Juan Cabal having both been ruled out in the long term through injury.
Nevertheless, speaking to Telecapri, agent Florin Manea has suggested that Dragusin is prepared to remain patient in his bid to make an impact under Ange Postecoglou.
Manea said: "It's an honour for Radu to be wanted by teams like Napoli and Juve, but at the moment they are just rumours.
"We are focused on Tottenham, he still has five years left on his contract. It's not easy to go to a top club and make an impact right away, he's still 22 years old.
"If he never plays this year, it's normal that other evaluations will be made: he won't move in January, in June we'll evaluate".
The only realistic outcome?
With Spurs paying £21.5m to sign Dragusin from Genoa, they committed to giving him time to settle and eventually establish himself as an important player.
Time spent in and out of the team has not helped a player who represented his country at Euro 2024, helping them reach the last 16.
That said, with Ben Davies the only alternative in the middle of the backline, Postecoglou cannot afford to allow Dragusin to move elsewhere with Europa League football on their schedule.
Postecoglou is already said to be assessing central-defensive options ahead of the January transfer window. body check tags ::