Tottenham Cut Loose £25m Defender as Paratici Strikes Again From The Other Side

Radu Dragusin is set to leave Tottenham for Tottenham for Fiorentina on an initial season-long loan, with an obligation to buy worth around £21.4million triggered if he reaches a certain number of appearances. The move is being driven by Fiorentina sporting director Fabio Paratici, the same man who sanctioned Dragusin's £25million arrival at Spurs in January 2024.

It is a deal that says as much about Paratici's enduring influence over Tottenham's business as it does about Dragusin's decline. Two-and-a-half years after being hailed as a coup that beat Bayern Munich to the punch, the 24-year-old Romania international is being moved on for a fee well below his original valuation, and Tottenham are barely blinking.

Paratici's Pattern: Why He Keeps Raiding His Old Clubs

This is not the first time Paratici has gone back to a former employer to strip out talent. During his time at Tottenham, he twice returned to Juventus, his old club, to sign Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur, as well as landing Cristian Romero, a player he had tracked from his Juventus prospect days.

A career built on familiar faces

Paratici's relationship with Tottenham has been anything but linear. He was forced to step down as sporting director in April 2023 after being hit with a worldwide ban by FIFA stemming from his dealings at Juventus. He then returned to Spurs in 2025, before switching to Fiorentina in February, where he has wasted little time targeting a player he knows intimately from his previous spell in north London.

The Dragusin deal fits a clear pattern: identify undervalued or squeezed-out players at clubs he has already worked inside, then move quickly before the market catches up. For Fiorentina, it gives them a Premier League-tested centre-back at a discount. For Tottenham, it is one less problem on the books.

From £25m Coup to Makeweight: Dragusin's Spurs Downfall

When Tottenham beat Bayern Munich to sign Dragusin from Genoa for £25million in January 2024, it was viewed as a statement of intent. Instead, he became a squad player who never dislodged the club's first-choice pairing.

The numbers behind the exit

Dragusin managed just 48 appearances in all competitions across two-and-a-half years at Spurs. His decline accelerated last season:

• Just 10 Premier League appearances in 2025/26
• Only five starts in the top flight all season
• Tottenham failed to win any of those five starts, losing three and drawing two
• The arrival of kevin-danso-2" class="entity-link entity-link--player">Kevin Danso in February 2025 pushed him further down the pecking order behind Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven

Exposed in the derby

The clearest sign of his struggles came in a 4-1 north London derby defeat at home to Arsenal, where he was overpowered by Sweden striker Viktor Gyokeres. talkSPORT co-host Gabby Agbonlahor did not hold back afterwards.

"I thought Gyokeres was very good. But what I will say is, me and Ally [McCoist] would look very good against Dragusin. I'm not being funny, but he's a terrible defender."

That kind of public verdict, from a pundit rather than a rival fan, underlines how far his stock had fallen inside the building before this move was even on the table.

Tottenham's Defensive Overhaul Explains the Exit

Dragusin's departure only makes sense when set against Tottenham's wider rebuild at the back this summer. Spurs have been the busiest club in the market, and defence has been the clear priority.

A summer of heavy spending

Tottenham have already brought in:

• Jan Paul van Hecke from Brighton for £52million
• marcos-senesi" class="entity-link entity-link--player">Marcos Senesi on a free transfer after his Bournemouth contract expired
• Andy Robertson on a free transfer
• Goalkeeper Martin Dubravka

That is before accounting for the club's record-breaking £85million deal for Mateus Fernandes from West Ham, a fee already set to be surpassed by a package worth £100million for Sandro Tonali from Newcastle.

Why Dragusin became dispensable

With Van Hecke and Senesi added to a back line already featuring Romero, Van de Ven and Danso, Tottenham simply have no room left for a centre-back who could not hold down a starting spot even before the new arrivals. His exit is less a surprise cut than the logical conclusion of a squad rebuild that has left several established names surplus to requirements.

What happens next

The loan is expected to be finalised as a season-long move, with Fiorentina required to trigger the £21.4million obligation to buy only if Dragusin reaches an agreed appearance threshold in Serie A. That structure gives both clubs flexibility, Fiorentina test him in regular football, Tottenham banks a fee close to half his original valuation if things go to plan.

For Tottenham, the more interesting story is what comes next in defence, with the club's spending pattern this summer suggesting further squad trimming is likely as the new-look back line beds in. For Dragusin, a return to Serie A under a sporting director who clearly rates him offers a chance to rebuild a reputation that took a battering in north London.