Radu Dragusin came back from a long-term injury in December but his agent has claimed that the Tottenham Hotspur defender was subject of a lucrative offer
Radu Dragusin's agent has revealed that they turned down a lucrative offer from Saudi Arabia to remain at Tottenham Hotspur.
Florin Manea has said that the Romanian defender was the topic of interest from the Middle East during the January transfer window but there was no interest in leaving North London. The 24-year-old had been forced to overcome a long-term knee injury and only returned to the fold in December, he has made eight Premier League appearances this season but continued his comeback after adding two caps to his international tally during the international break.
Dragusin has made 46 appearances for Spurs in three seasons after joining from Serie A side Genoa in the 2024 January transfer window. He was linked with a return to Italy in January and his agent has claimed that Bundesliga side RB Leipzig were also interested, as well as teams from the Saudi Pro League, but an exit wasn't considered.
He said: "You want me to tell you something? We refused €50million (£43.6million) over five years for Radu. €10m (£8.7m) per year.
"Someone from Saudi Arabia called us and said they would give us €10m (£8.7m) net per year to go there. We did not even consider it.
"€10m (£8.7m) per year? Tell me how many would refuse that. It could have gone up to €15m (£13.1m), even €20m (£17.4m) per year. It could have reached €100m (£87.2m) over five years. I would have taken a commission of €20m-€30m (£17.4m-£26.2m). But we were not interested.”
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Manea added: "There was an offer for him in the winter from Leipzig. Now we will see if they want to try again or not."
Dragusin has a new opportunity to impress the Spurs head coach after Roberto De Zerbi replaced Igor Tudor.
It is the latest managerial change after Thomas Frank replaced Ange Postecoglou before the Croatian's spell in the Premier League was brief.
De Zerbi has been tasked with keeping Spurs in England's top-flight as they face the threat of relegation to the Champions League.
A 3-0 home defeat to Nottingham Forest on the eve of the international break left Spurs edging even closer to the bottom three with West Ham United just one point adrift in 18th.
In his first interview, De Zerbi said: "I signed five years of contract because for me, it is a big challenge and I will be the coach of Tottenham next season, no matter what.
"I know very well it is a tough moment. It is a difficult moment for everyone of Tottenham, (but) I think we have the right qualities to come out from this moment.
"I believe in the players. I think we have to remember who we are, and who the players are because we have very big players. We have to work in their confidence and in their qualities. They have to show what they are and what (level) they are used to playing."