Tottenham Hotspur may be in the market for another defender this summer despite bringing in Radu Dragusin from Genoa during the January transfer window.
Tottenham just couldn’t continue with Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero as the only recognised centre backs.
Romero’s suspension issues and Van de Ven’s hamstring problems left Tottenham exposed earlier in the season; a centre back pairing of Emerson Royal and Ben Davies shouldn’t really be seen again.
Spurs paid up for Dragusin, bringing the Romanian in from Genoa having been impressed with his potential over in Italy.
Dragusin has only started one Premier League game so far but the expectation is that he will offer great competition for Romero and Van de Ven moving forward.
Tottenham may still look for depth across the back line; perhaps a centre back who could also play at left back or right back in Ange Postecoglou’s system.
There will be exits too and one player seems destined to depart Tottenham this summer…
Japhet Tanganga praised by Millwall teammate
A product of the Tottenham youth ranks, Japhet Tanganga broke through under Jose Mourinho and initially impressed with his defensive ability.
Willing to play at left back, right back and centre back, Tanganga managed 50 first-team appearances for Tottenham but that tally may end there.
Tanganga is out of contract in 2025 and Tottenham allowed him to spend the second half of the season on loan at Millwall.
The 25-year-old has featured prominently, racking up 17 Championship appearances and even chipping in with two goals.
Tanganga has helped Millwall pull away from the Championship relegation zone and he is now earning major praise.
Teammate Brooke Norton-Cuffy – on loan from Arsenal – has taken to Instagram to call Tanganga a ‘Rolls Royce’ after beating Plymouth Argyle 1-0 on Saturday.
Norton-Cuffy has clearly been impressed with Tanganga, putting his Arsenal loyalties to one side in order to praise the Tottenham-owned defender.
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Time for Tanganga to move on
Tanganga is doing all he can to prove himself to Postecoglou, making one last push to fight for his Tottenham future.
A loan move to Augsburg really didn’t work out and whilst the switch to Millwall is working well for him, we can’t see him featuring at Tottenham again.
Tottenham are moving in a different direction under Postecoglou and it’s difficult to see where Tanganga would even fit in.
Tanganga doesn’t really fit the bill for a full back in Postecoglou’s system and he would be down the pecking order as a centre back.
The time has surely come for Tanganga to move on and settle down somewhere, prioritising first-team football with a permanent exit.
Tanganga has at least put himself in the shop window and Tottenham will surely field offers from a number of clubs this summer.
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