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Pundit says 22-year-old Tottenham player’s just not as good as £34m teammate
Robbie Mustoe believes that Radu Dragusin is just nowhere near as good as Micky van de Ven after Tottenham Hotspur were thrashed by Fulham on Saturday.
Ange Postecoglou’s side were brought back down to earth after their outstanding second-half performance against Aston Villa earlier this month.
Tottenham missed the chance to move into the top-four in the Premier League, losing 3-0 at Craven Cottage. It was arguably the side’s worst performance since Postecoglou took over last year.
What was particularly alarming was how strong Tottenham’s side was. The only regular starter not involved was Micky van de Ven, with the Dutchman sustaining an injury against the Villans.
Radu Dragusin endures nightmare full debut for Tottenham
That presented a chance to Radu Dragusin. Dragusin was praised for his performance at Villa Park. But unfortunately, Saturday did not go to plan.
Certainly, Robbie Mustoe suggested on podcast that Tottenham lost a lot not having van de Ven, even if the overall result would not have been different.
“Fulham could have had three goals in the first-half. I think I text you goofing around, this should be 7-0 to Fulham. We know that Spurs can be open when the football’s not right, because they’re so in advanced areas to make their game happen. When the football isn’t good, they are wide open. Players just running through,” he said.
“Dragusin’s nowhere near [van de Ven]. But that doesn’t explain the performance.”
Centre-back needs time
It would be incredibly unfair to be too critical of Dragusin. He was making his full debut for Tottenham. And he is only 22 years of age. So it was always going to be a tough task up against one of the most in-form forwards in the Premier League right now.
Van de Ven is so important to the way Tottenham play. He has been an outstanding signing at . And his pace gives Spurs so much security.
Dragusin does not quite the same boxes. And it seems that Postecoglou’s side struggled to adapt in a way that was not a problem the week before.