da dobrowin： Newcastle United inherited obscene riches when the club was bought by the PIF back in 2021 but sporting director Dan Ashworth has ensured that money isn't being needlessly spent on players.
da betway： Manchester City's early days under Sheikh Mansour were a great reference point for what the Geordie club shouldn't do with their newfound wealth as City spent huge wads of cash on the likes of Jo, Robinho and Nigel de Jong, all of whom didn't last very long at the Etihad Stadium.
The Magpies have been smart with their recruitment, bringing in some hungry, young players with high ceilings for affordable prices, including Sven Botman, Alexander Isak, Bruno Guimaraes and Anthony Gordon, while the acquisition of Eddie Howe in the hot seat has proven to be a masterstroke thus far from the board.
With the January transfer window approaching, Newcastle seem to be following the same trend of talent identification and will look to sign one of Serie A's highly-rated centre-backs. However, this target is actually performing worse this season than long-time defender Jamaal Lascelles.
Newcastle transfer news – Radu Dragusin
Newcastle United have been keeping tabs on 21-year-old Radu Dragusin for quite some time and were first linked with signing the Romania international back in September.
However, this past week, in an interview with Turkish outlet Fanatik, via the Express, Dragusin's agent confirmed that he has held talks with the Magpies over potentially acquiring the centre-back in the future, as well as with Premier League leaders Arsenal and even AC Milan.
His agent stated: “I have been in London for some time and have almost weekly meetings with important teams. We are getting closer and closer. I spoke to Newcastle, to Arsenal, to Tottenham. I also have messages with them, conversations. There are teams that ask.
“I want to say that 100% until next summer, Radu will play for a club in the top 10 in the world. He wants to be in the Premier League, but know that Milan likes him very much. I talked to the people there."
Dragusin could well be on his way to St. James' Park in the very near future, with the January window fast approaching, but is the Genoa star much better than what Newcastle United already have?
Radu Dragusin's career so far
Having made merely four appearances in total for Juventus, Romanian centre-half Radu Dragusin was sent out on loan to Serie B side Genoa in 2022 in the hopes of achieving first-team football.
In his first season with Genoa, the side were promoted back to Italy's top flight under former World Cup winner Alberto Gilardino, with Dragusin featuring 40 times for Il Grifone and picking up more goals than yellow cards. Midway through the 2022/23 campaign, Genoa signed the defender permanently for a fee worth £6.6m in total.
Genoa are currently sitting 15th in Serie A after 13 games and Dragusin has started every single game under Gilardino this term, scoring one goal which came during a 4-1 thrashing of Jose Mourinho's Roma back in September. According to the CIES Football Observatory, Dragusin's market value is just £13m after an excellent start to the campaign.
Radu Dragusin's stats this season
Dragusin has been one of Genoa's best players this season and has been a rock at the back for the Italian side as they vie to remain in Serie A. Compared to all other centre-backs in Europe's top-five leagues, the youngster comes out quite favourably, ranking above average in a number of key metrics, with 50% being the median.
Per 90 Metrics
Percentile Rank
Non-Penalty Goals
84
Assists
90
Expected Assists
92
Key Passes
82
% Of Dribblers Tackled
98
Clearances
85
Aerials Won
77
% Of Aerials Won
84
Interceptions
56
Stats via FBref.
When analysing Dragusin's raw defensive ability and set-piece threat, his stats make for really impressive reading.
However, the biggest issue that clubs will have when scouting the centre-half is that Genoa play a very direct style of football which means that Dragusin ranks incredibly low in a whole host of important criterion needed to feature for an attacking side like Newcastle who want to have more of the ball than the opposition.
Per 90 Metrics
Percentile Rank
Touches
6
Progressive Carries
32
Passes Received
8
Passes Attempted
8
Passes Completed
9
Pass Completion %
25
Switches
33
Progressive Passes
1
Stats via FBref.
Genoa have averaged 41.1% of the ball in each game in Serie A this season which is the lowest in the division, meaning Dragusin won't be used to playing consistently in a team that wants to maintain possession and build through the thirds on the deck.
Newcastle head coach Howe will likely see Dragusin as the man to partner alongside Sven Botman in the heart of the defence given that he is right-footed. This means that the 21-year-old will have to contend with both Jamaal Lascelles and Fabian Schar for the starting berth in the team.
However, Lascelles is actually outperforming Dragusin statistically this season and has been sensational at the back for the Magpies amidst an injury crisis at the club.
Pass Completion %
81.7
85.5
85.8
Progressive Passes
1.31
2.54
3.23
Passes To Final 1/3
1
2.25
3.69
Long Pass Completion %
47
40.5
61.8
Switches
0.23
0.28
0.69
Tackles Won
0.54
0.56
1.06
Blocks
0.77
1.55
0.77
Interceptions
1.23
0.42
0.92
Errors
0.23
0
0
Stats via FBref
Both Lascelles and Schar are performing at a much higher level right now than Dragusin, particularly the former who earned a 7.1 Sofascore rating at the weekend as Newcastle ran riot over Chelsea in the Premier League. Dragusin will struggle to break into Howe's side in the short term if Lascelles keeps up his excellent displays at St. James' Park.