Tottenham’s new £25m signing Radu Dragusin is top for clearances and interceptions… but one big star is streaks ahead of the pack in SIX categories as the Premier League’s best centre backs are put head-to-head
- Tottenham announced the signing of Radu Dragusin for £25 million on Thursday evening
- And his stats have been compared with four other Premier League defenders
- Would Tottenham be clearly at the top of the league if they hadn’t lost some of their best players to injuries? It all starts
It has been a busy week for Tottenham in the transfer window, with Ange Postecoglou’s side having both loaned Timo Werner from Red Bull Leipzig before also signing Radu Dragusin from Genoa.
Spurs beat off competition from German giants Bayern Munich to land the defender, completing a £25 million deal to sign him on Thursday evening.
On Friday, Postecoglou insisted that both Dragusin and Werner would ‘fit in well’ with what Tottenham are trying to build, with the 6ft 3in defender being a physical and aerial presence in the backline, but also possessing impressive technical ability.
How does he stack up against other defenders currently playing in the Premier League?
Squawka has compared his Serie A stats this season with those of defenders Ruben Dias, William Saliba, Ezri Konsa and Ibrahima Konate in the Premier League and there is one player who has a big lead over the rest.
Radu Dragusin’s statistics have been compared with those of several other Premier League defenders
Tottenham announced they had signed the 21-year-old Genoa centre-back for £25 million on Thursday
Dragusin is better than the others when it comes to Areial duel success rate, clearances made and interceptions per 90 minutes. But he ranks lowest in tackles made and forward passes produced.
By comparison, Liverpool star Konate is the pick of the five defenders and leads the way in six different categories, including ball recoveries made, long passes attempted and forward passes per 90.
He is also at the top in tackles made, aerial duels won and blocks made, which is testament to the exceptional season he has had for Jurgen Klopp’s side so far this season.
Konate made fourteen appearances for Liverpool during the 2023/24 season, notably starting nine of those matches, and put in an excellent performance in their recent 2-0 FA Cup win against Arsenal.
His defensive stats are compared with five other Premier League stars, including Man City’s Ruben Dias
But it was Liverpool’s Ibrahima Konate who came out ahead of the other defenders by a wide margin
In October, Konate promised to become ‘better’ than his teammate Virgil van Dijk and he is certainly well on his way to doing so.
Notably, he is far ahead of his competitors in several categories, winning just under one more aerial duel than Dragusin per match.
Saliba, who is back in action for Arsenal this season, has made 20 Premier League appearances but is only at the top of Konate in one category for ball recovery.
Aston Villa star Konsa, meanwhile, is the best long-ball player of the five, surpassing his peers by winning a whopping 81 percent of the ground matches he participates in.
Arsenal’s William Saliba was tied for the top spot with Konate in terms of ball recovery
Meanwhile, Aston Villa’s Ezri Konsa came first in three categories, the most notable of which was his success in winning matches on the ground
But Dias is the only player of the quintet not to top the charts in any of the categories, despite coming close in terms of interceptions per 90, forward passes produced and long pass accuracy.
With the Premier League restarting this weekend, Konate said he was relishing the challenge ahead of Liverpool, who are now in the hunt for four trophies.
“It’s hard to play a lot of games, but we love it,” he told the BBC. ‘We did it two years ago, we won two cups.
‘I hope this season is different (win more). Fingers crossed.’
