Tottenham Hotspur new boy Radu Dragusin is reportedly eligible to make his debut against Manchester United on Sunday after receiving his work permit.
The Romania international's permanent switch from Genoa was confirmed on Thursday evening, as he followed RB Leipzig loanee Timo Werner to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Dragusin reinforces a Tottenham backline which has been hit by the frequent absences of Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero, both of whom have been dealing with hamstring injuries this season.
With Dragusin opting to join Spurs over Bayern Munich, Tottenham sanctioned a move to the Allianz Arena for Eric Dier, while Ashley Phillips will spend the rest of the season on loan with Plymouth Argyle.
During Friday's pre-game press conference, Ange Postecoglou was asked whether he expected Dragusin to receive his work permit in time for Sunday's trip to Old Trafford, and he expressed confidence that he would be able to hand the defender his debut.
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According to the Daily Mail, Dragusin has now been granted his work permit and will be in line to don the white jersey for the first time against the 20-time English champions on Sunday.
The former Juventus youngster has already trained with his new teammates, and it is now up to Postecoglou to determine whether he is ready for his first taste of Premier League action at the Theatre of Dreams.
Dragusin's availability is a major boost for Tottenham, who could still be without Romero for the clash with the Red Devils, in spite of the fact that the Argentine has now returned to training from a hamstring problem.
Postecoglou said on Friday that the weekend may come too soon for Romero to make his comeback, although Van de Ven - who had been out since November with his own hamstring issue - was back on the bench against Burnley in the FA Cup.
Van de Ven and Dragusin should therefore be in contention to link up in front of Guglielmo Vicario, thus allowing Postecoglou to pair two recognised centre-backs together after several weeks of being forced to use full-backs in an emergency role.
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Ben Davies and Emerson Royal have often been deployed centrally over the festive period, but the former has now become the latest Tottenham hamstring victim, sustaining his issue in the cup win over Burnley.
The Welshman's issue is set to keep him out of action for a number of weeks, while Giovani Lo Celso is also sidelined with the unspecified concern he picked up in the 1-0 beating of the Clarets.
None of Manor Solomon, James Maddison, Alejo Veliz or Ivan Perisic will make the cut either, while Yves Bissouma, Pape Sarr and Son Heung-min are all away on international duty.
The absences of Son and Lo Celso will likely see Werner given the nod in the final third at Old Trafford, where the ex-Chelsea man is poised to make his 57th appearance in the Premier League following his mixed spell at Chelsea.
In contrast, Man United could welcome as many as six stricken players back to the squad for the meeting with Spurs, including ex-Tottenham midfielder Christian Eriksen following an illness.
Ben Knapton
