Tudor must bench Spurs’ £35m man who makes Dragusin look like a good signing

Tottenham Hotspur are in satisfactory condition.

Last season, Ange Postecoglou’s side finished 17th in the Premier League, but the gap between them and the relegation zone was so wide that relegation was never on the cards.

All that has changed now. Spurs are 16th in the table with 11 games remaining, while in-form West Ham United are fighting tooth and nail to escape third, losing just one of six and trailing Igor Tudor’s side by just four points.

The club needs to make a change, there is no time to waste. Defensively, Spurs have holes, and while Cristian Romero still has a two-game suspension to serve, Tudor should consider dropping Radu Dragusin.

Why Spurs need to part ways with Radu Dragusin

Dragusin, 24, has suffered in these two years at Tottenham. The Romanian joined Genoa for £27m midway through Postecoglou’s first season, having been brought in to combat an injury problem at full-back.

However, he struggled before when he tore his ACL against Elfsborg last year – which kept him out until the final days of December.

Guilty of many mistakes since re-entering contention, Dragusin is not doing the basics right. Furthermore, he has only won 33% of his six games in six Premier League games this season. Not the biggest sample size, but equally, an alarming success rate for a middle linebacker on a team fighting a slump.

Twice the top-class full-back made a direct mistake that led to a goal, which is why Tudor may want to drop him, especially if Romero returns and Kevin Danso returns from injury.

Indeed, Spurs are one of the most error-prone teams in the Premier League, and Dragusin has not eased that concern since being drafted.

Some would argue that Dragusin is being marginalized. After all, Spurs’ backline is already deep, and those on the pitch have recommended cheating as well.

There is one star, in fact, that entered the fray at the same time as Dragusin, and it may be operating at a lower level right now.

The Spurs star is already making Dragusin look good

In January, Tottenham had a number of problems to overcome. However, key issues were not resolved, and Conor Gallagher was a statement signing, joining Atletico Madrid for £35m.

Gallagher is a workhorse with plenty of experience in the Premier League and outside of Spain. In addition, he is an England player with 22 caps.

Hailed as a “machine” in midfield by former Chelsea team-mate Moises Caicedo, Gallagher displayed that power down the N17, getting 4.8 balls per game. However, he is yet to create a big chance, and despite this, he has lost the ball 10.5 times per game.

He wins duels and zips, but there has been a distinct lack of artistic quality from the age of 25 until now in 2026, and it proves a problem in the center of the park, especially James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski who are still out due to injuries.

While Dragusin has been a problem of late, Gallagher has not been able to fulfill his appointed duties since the beginning of the calendar year, and with Pedro Porro returning from injury, the exciting Archie Gray could be recommended in the middle of the park.

Dragusin is struggling, but Gallagher is a seasoned Premier League player who was signed to turn things around for Tottenham. However, his lack of quality and confidence on the ball now is shocking, and Tudor will have to make some tough choices soon if they want to pick the perfect squad to finally make it up the table.

At the moment, Gallagher has not clicked in the Spurs system, and if Tudor want to stick with their back three, they may want to make a bold call to stop recruiting in January.

Tottenham need more diversity in the middle of the park, and Gallagher looks old fashioned, yet to provide the creative solution the club desperately needed heading into the winter transfer window.

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