After the departure of long-serving defender Eric Dier to Bayern Munich, it appears the January transfer plans at Tottenham have taken another twist.
Dragusin in, Dier out at Spurs
Following the capture of centre-back Radu Dragusin from Genoa in a part-exchange deal worth around £26 million (Fabrizio Romano), which was confirmed by the club on Thursday, Dier put pen to paper on a loan move to Germany with his Spurs contract also expiring this summer.
The 29-year-old has put an end to his near decade-long stay in north London, having joined Tottenham from Sporting Lisbon in the summer of 2014. Dier made 364 appearances for the Lilywhites in all competitions, being deployed at left centre-back, right centre-back and as a six in that time.
However, new manager Ange Postecogloubarely used the Englishman who didn’t feature in his long-term plans, with the Australian even using a makeshift centre-back pairing of Emerson Royal and Ben Davies in the absence of both Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero.
Chairman Daniel Levy and technical director Johan Lange have managed to free up squad space and get Dier’s wages off the books with this transfer, and it could boost their further January plans for incomings.
While Dragusin has signed from Genoa in a real boost for Postecoglou as Dier goes out the other way, Tottenham News now claim that Spurs could move to sign another central defensive ace.
Tottenham could make Ostigard move to replace Dier
Indeed, according to their information, the north Londoners have their eye on Napoli ace Leo Ostigard despite the addition of Dragusin.
It is believed Tottenham could make a move for Ostigard to replace Dier as Postecoglou and co seek further reinforcements at the back.
The Norway international has been quoted as a “tough” defender and potential “Ange player” by an Italian source who spoke to the outlet.
Spurs may apparently find themselves in need of another centre-back following Dier’s departure, and Ostigard is a player they’re said to be very fond of.
The 24-year-old has made 13 Serie A appearances for the Italian champions this season, and boasts one of the best passing accuracy percentages (87.5%) of any regular in their squad (WhoScored).
Ostigard, formerly of Brighton, has experience in England – making 54 Championship appearances in total across spells at Coventry City and Stoke City. It is unclear whether Napoli would be willing to sell this window, or what he’d cost, but Spurs could apparently go for another defender after Dragusin.
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