Radu Drăgușin

Key strength: Aerial dominance

Defensive anchor

In the crucible of a relegation battle, Tottenham Hotspur's most expensive defensive investment sits helpless in the stands. Radu Drăgușin, the 24-year-old Romanian centre-back signed for €20 million to anchor Ange Postecoglou's backline, faces every footballer's cruellest nightmare—a cruciate ligament tear that will keep him sidelined until December 2025. With Spurs languishing in 18th place despite a flickering WLDWW run offering faint hope of escape, Drăgușin's absence cuts deepest. His career numbers reveal exactly what Tottenham currently lack: 12 goals from 188 appearances showcase his aerial menace at set-pieces, while his commanding physicality and 80-rated aerial dominance made him the prototype modern centre-back. As Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven stretch to paper over the cracks, Drăgușin's empty number 3 shirt serves as a painful reminder that sometimes the most valuable players are the ones you cannot field—a £25 million investment deferred, leaving Spurs to fight the drop without their intended defensive cornerstone.