Tottenham stars playing for their futures with Ange Postecoglou facing 'difficult' decisions | OneFootball

Radu Dragusin’s failure to seize chance underlines problem facing Spurs boss

There cannot be a more talkative agent in the Premier League than Radu Dragusin's representative, Florin Manea, who was again speaking about his client ahead of Tottenham's game against Ipswich on Sunday.

"The boy is happy here at Tottenham," Manea reportedly told the Italian press, having previously expressed frustration at Dragusin's lack of game-time at Spurs and laid out his plans to move him to Real Madrid in the future.

Unfortunately for Manea and his grand ambitions, Dragusin was again off-colour as Spurs were beaten 2-1 by the Tractor Boys and, as it stands, the chances of Real calling for the centre-back appear slim.

Radu Dragusin was sent off after just seven minutes against Qarabag

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Brennan Johnson was hounded by supporters online to such an extent that he deleted his social media accounts in September but has since scored seven times in a series of decisive displays, demonstrating the folly of dismissing players in poor form - and, anyway, Dragusin is still young and adapting to Spurs.

Still, the 22-year-old is one of several players for whom the jury remains out as Ange Postecoglou's side continue to yo-yo from the brilliant to the abysmal.

He has struggled in Europe this season, lasting just seven minutes of Spurs' opening Europa League game against Qarabag before being sent off and run ragged by Victor Osimhen in the midweek defeat to Galatasaray.

Micky van de Ven's hamstring injury against Manchester City should have presented Dragusin with an opportunity to start pressuring Spurs’ first-choice centre-backs, the Dutchman and Cristian Romero, but instead it has only suggested there is a gap for him to close.

Timo Werner has struggled while on loan at Tottenham

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Postecoglou's squad was supposed to be deeper and more equipped to compete on multiple fronts this season but Dragusin is among the squad players struggling to meet the manager's demands week in and week out.

Timo Werner, who is on loan from RB Leipzig, has struggled to replicate the cutting edge provided by Johnson and Heung-min Son when he has deputised out wide, while teenager Lucas Bergvall is still transitioning and yet to make a meaningful impact.

James Maddison has lost his place in the Premier League XI and looks short of spark - notwithstanding his brilliant free-kick against Aston Villa - while Yves Bissouma has played well in bursts but is yet to return to the consistent levels that made him such an exciting prospect under Postecoglou at the start of last season.

Ben Davies and Fraser Forster will always be steady but unspectacular options, good characters but not well-suited to Postecoglou's football.

James Maddison has lost his starting spot

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When Spurs are playing well, and ripping through the likes of Manchester United, Manchester City or Villa, it has been easy to wonder if Postecoglou's squad is one or two significant tweaks away from being a real force.

But the head coach has consistently said that there is still major work to do on the squad, and previously compared his current group to Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool or Mikel Arteta's Arsenal in year two of the managers' projects.

Tottenham's stuttering start to the campaign has made it plain that there are a number of players in Postecoglou's squad who are still not capable of playing the head coach's football consistently or simply struggling to win his trust.

Postecoglou has spoken passionately about the need to "change" and make difficult decisions, and you wonder if several of his players are facing uncertain futures.