Tottenham Hotspur are now gearing up for this weekend’s North London derby against Arsenal with the international break coming towards its end.
The first international break of the season is coming to an end and the North London derby is drawing closer.
Tottenham Hotspur fans went into this international break on a low note having watched a 2-1 defeat at Newcastle United.
Spurs dominated that game but not only failed to find the goal to go in front, but ended up losing in frustrating fashion.
Ange Postecoglou must now come back with a more positive result as Arsenal prepare to arrive at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this weekend.
Tottenham have concerns over Yves Bissouma’s injury but will hope that all other players return from international duty unscathed.
Romania boss on Radu Dragusin
Among those in action on this international break is defender Radu Dragusin.
The Spurs centre back joined up with Romania for games against Kosovo and Lithuania.
After starting for Tottenham against Newcastle in Micky van de Ven’s absence, Dragusin started both of Romania’s games in the last few days.
Romania beat Kosovo 3-0 before seeing off Lithuania with a 3-1 victory on Monday night.
Dragusin can be pleased with his performances but boss Mircea Lucescu has offered him some areas of improvement.
Speaking to Golazo in Romania, Lucescu criticised Dragusin for dropping off in one moment.
Lucescu feels that Dragusin is used to starting high and dropping off for Tottenham but he could have been more aggressive to step forward and claim possession to start a Romania counter-attack.
Lucescu did though praise Dragusin for a ‘very good’ performance against Kosovo, backing him to improve with more playing time at Tottenham.
“Radu retreated like in England, retreated in the box, we could score a goal there,” said Lucescu. “Normally, he had to come out, block, and Hagi to double him, it was a counter attack situation. There are football elements that they need to know easily.
“Radu played a very good game in Kosovo as well, but he is still young and I think he will grow with time and at Tottenham, his team,” he added.
Dragusin on standby for North London derby
Dragusin will be happy with the playing time coming his way in the last couple of weeks.
A Premier League start followed by two starts for Romania has allowed Dragusin to build some momentum having started the season on the Spurs bench.
The problem is that Dragusin may be back to familiar surroundings as a Tottenham substitute this weekend.
There is hope that Van de Ven will return from injury to face Arsenal and join forces with Cristian Romero in the heart of defence.
That would leave Dragusin going back to the bench once again, which is no doubt frustrating for him.
Dragusin knew what he signed up for though; he was coming in as competition for Romero and Van de Ven.
Lingering rumours over Romero’s future may give Dragusin a chance to play down the line but, for now, he just has to remain patient and ensure he is ready to play just in case Van de Ven doesn’t return.
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