Tottenham faced a major blow in the race to finish in the top four of the Premier League after surprising defeat at the hands of Fulham.
Spurs were comfortably beaten 3-0 by their London rivals with Rodrigo Muniz scoring twice for the hosts. Sasa Lukic added the third to ensure the victory for Fulham.
January signing Radu Dragusin were given a full debut as he replaced the injured Micky van de Ven.
The Romanian defender’s performance, however, did not impress Spurs’ former scout Bryan King, who observed that in his first start, he found it difficult to keep up with the intense speed of Premier League game.
In an interview with Tottenham News, King criticised Dragusin’s defensive awareness and posture, holding him accountable for the first and third goals scored by Fulham.
The analyst emphasized Dragusin’s sluggish reflexes and vulnerability to being caught ball-watching, pointing out that the center-back made blunders in both of his goals due to his incapacity to predict Muniz’s moves.
King said: “I wasn’t convinced by Dragusin, he wasn’t up to the pace of the game at all.
“He doesn’t look elegant at all, not like van de Ven. His movement worried me, he defended square on and he kept getting caught ball-watching.
“He was badly at fault for the third goal, he reacted so slowly. He was watching the ball and by the time he reacted, Rodrigo Muniz had put it in the back of the net.
“It was the same for Muniz’s first goal, he was looking at where the ball was coming from, he wasn’t aware of what was around him. Muniz was much smarter than Dragusin with his movement off him.”
Dragusin may not have had the finest start for Spurs, but with his amazing potential at just 22 years old, it shouldn’t take away from his skill.
He needs to be given time to adjust to the pace of the Premier League and settle in what is called the most difficult league in the world.
Considering his talent and potential, if he manages to adapt to the league, he has the ability to become one of the best in the league.
