Tottenham Hotspur new boy Radu Dragusin has confirmed that he turned his nose up at the chance to play for Bayern Munich in order to join Ange Postecoglou's side.
The Romania international became Spurs' second signing of the winter window - after RB Leipzig loanee Timo Werner - when his move from Genoa for an initial £21.5m was announced on Thursday evening.
Dragusin immediately came into the Tottenham matchday squad for the weekend's 2-2 draw with Manchester United, where he came off the bench for his Spurs and Premier League debut at Old Trafford.
However, Tottenham's pursuit of Dragusin was not plain sailing, as all of Bayern, Napoli and AC Milan were also hoping to strike a deal for the 21-year-old, although only the German champions were seen as true competitors to Spurs.
Bayern fought tooth and nail to convince Dragusin to move to the Allianz Arena instead of the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but their advances were rejected mere hours before he was unveiled by the Lilywhites.
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Dragusin's agent stated that his client had rejected Bayern to fulfil his Premier League dream, a decision which the representative admitted left him in disbelief, and Dragusin has now backed up that claim.
When asked by the Evening Standard if he had rebuffed an approach from Bayern, Dragusin replied: "Yes, that is right. I chose Tottenham because I felt it was the right step for me and I had a really good conversation with the coach.
"I saw that they wanted me from a long time ago, like one month before the transfer window, so I thought this is the right choice for me. I really believe in this team and that it is a good environment for me to continue my career and to progress in [Tottenham's] incredible stadium and [with these] team-mates.
"The sky is the limit. We hope we will be as high as possible in the League and we can then see from there. My dream was to play in the Premier League, so that was part of it. I think the team here, the guys here, are on a good trajectory. I felt joining them can help me a lot.
"I like the way of the games in the Premier League, the physicality, intensity, speed and aggression... it is a lot of things I can prefer more. It is a good feeling for me to be here."
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Despite coming up short in the race to sign Dragusin, the Romania international's switch to North London allowed Bayern to strike a deal with Tottenham to sign Eric Dier on a six-month loan.
The England international's Spurs contract runs out at the end of the season, but Bayern have the option to convert Dier's loan into a permanent deal until 2025.
Meanwhile, Dragusin's deal with Postecoglou's side runs until the summer of 2030, but his agent already has one eye on a future move to Real Madrid for the former Juventus youngster.
Dragusin could make his first start for Tottenham when the Lilywhites battle Manchester City in their mouthwatering FA Cup fourth-round tie on January 26.
Ben Knapton
