£30m wasted: Spurs must axe Ange signing who earns more than Van de Ven

Instead of building on his debut campaign with Tottenham Hotspur, this season has been something of a nightmare for Ange Postecoglou.

The Australian’s side may have lost just a single Premier League game last month, but they are still in 12th place and are out of both the FA Cup and League Cup.

However, while much of the blame for the Lilywhites’ poor form can be placed at the feet of the former Celtic boss, there have been some extenuating circumstances.

For example, the North Londoners’ biggest problem has been their defence, and there are several reasons why that is the case, not all of which can be blamed on the manager.

Tottenham’s dismal defence

As things stand, Spurs have conceded 39 goals in just 27 league games this season, averaging 1.44 per game.

Seven teams have conceded more this term, but the Lilywhites have the joint-worst defence of the traditional ‘big six’ alongside Manchester United, and sharing anything in common with the Red Devils at the moment is not a good sign.

Now, there is certainly an argument to be made that at least part of this problem stems from Postecoglou’s desire to play a high-line, as both this season and last, his side have sat comfortably in the top half of the table for the height of their defensive line.

However, injuries are undoubtedly a more significant problem.

For example, this season alone has seen key defensive stars like Cristian Romero, Micky Van de Ven, Destiny Udogie, Ben Davies and even goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario miss sizable parts of the campaign.

Moreover, while there are ways to cope without some of their stars, Van de Ven is a vital cog in Postecoglou’s machine, as his power and breakneck speed allow the team to play further up the pitch without too much concern about counter-attacks.

The only silver lining to the club’s incredible number of defensive injuries this term has been seeing Archie Gray become an increasingly important member of the first team.

The 18-year-old may be a central midfielder, but within the context of the campaign, has done an exceptional job covering at centre-back and full-back and looks every bit the “future £100m” star analyst Ben Mattinson claims he is.

However, while the young Englishman has stepped up in a big way and made himself someone the club can count on in the future, the same cannot be said for one of his defensive teammates, who arguably earns more than he should.

The Spurs defender earning too much

With the number of injuries to their defence this season, Radu Dragusin has been forced to play a lot more football than most would’ve expected he would, and, as a result, suffered his own season-ending injury last month.

However, prior to that, it would be hard to describe his performances as anything other than underwhelming this term, and that might even be a little kind.

For example, the former Genoa ace, who joined the team for £25m last January, made 16 appearances in the league this season, in which he averaged just 0.88 points per game and put in some stand-out performances for all the wrong reasons.

Arguably the worst of the lot came at home in the club’s dire 2-1 defeat against Ipswich Town, a game in which journalist Mitch Fretton described the Romanian international as a “horror show.”

Now, if the 23-year-old was earning a meagre wage and just looked at as a last-choice backup, his form might not be such a problem, but that is not the case.

Instead, he earns a whopping £85k-per-week, which is £10k more than Gray makes and a massive £35k more than Van de Ven, despite their undeniable importance to the team today and in the future.

Moreover, when you consider his transfer fee and the wages he’s earned since moving to N17, the Bucharest-born ace has cost the club around £30m.

Ultimately, Dragusin is not the worst defender, but when he and his teammates return to fitness, we don’t see a world where he plays for Spurs.

So, Daniel Levy and Co must do what they can to move him on as soon as possible in the summer.

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