Tottenham Hotspur centre-back Radu Dragusin did something this season that no other player in European football was able to match.
The Romanian defender only made the move to Tottenham in the January transfer window and game time was at a premium having signed.
However, Radu Dragusin was handed some more game time towards the end of the season by Ange Postecoglou as injuries continued to riddle the side.
Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero formed an outstanding partnership at the back for Tottenham this season meaning Dragusin struggled to earn regular game time for Spurs.
But when the 22-year-old has played, he has certainly impressed as he was able to keep his spot at centre-back for the final two games of the campaign.
And the Romanian has now ended the campaign having done something which no other centre-back across Europe has managed to match.
Radu Dragusin has done something which even Virgil van Dijk could not match
Having allowed Eric Dier and Davinson Sanchez to move on to new clubs over his first season in north London, Postecoglou needed to bring in some further options to bolster his defence.
Bringing in Van de Ven was a big step forward in terms of the quality available to partner Romero and adding Dragusin has seriously boosted the squad depth.
And having Europa League football to contend with next season will surely provide Dragusin with more opportunities to play from the start.
Van de Ven has shown – despite his brilliance – he is susceptible to sustaining hamstring injuries with two to his name in his first season at Spurs.
With the 2023/24 campaign complete, Dragusin has ended the campaign with the fewest number of dribbles conceded per 90 minutes of defenders across Europe’s top five leagues.
Although Dragusin’s minutes in the second half of the campaign at Spurs were extremely limited, his performances in Serie A were clearly of a very high level.
Virgil van Dijk played considerably more football this season than Dragusin, but it just goes to show how impressive of a prospect Spurs have in Dragusin that he is even up there with the Liverpool man.
Radu Dragusin also does something better than Micky van de Ven
The Dutchman has brought an awful lot to Postecoglou’s defence with Van de Ven being recorded as the Premier League’s fastest-ever player.
However, compared to Romero and Dragusin, it seems that Van de Ven actually does have one considerable weakness.
Van de Ven’s percentage of aerial duels won is significantly lower than both Romero and Dragusin despite being the tallest of the three.
Statistics via FBRef.
Although Van de Ven has massively improved the options Postecoglou has at his disposal, this could well be a major factor in the club’s poor record in defending set pieces.
With Dragusin potentially being used more frequently next season with a busier schedule, perhaps Tottenham’s defensive record from set pieces may see some improvement.