Tottenham Hotspur bounced back from a defeat at Crystal Palace to knock Premier League champions Man City out of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday, and it is believed that a player who starred in the game is now attracting real attention.
Tottenham 2-1 Man City - match report
Lilywhites supporters couldn't have asked for a better response after their damaging loss at Selhurst Park on Sunday, with a victory against one of Europe's best teams going some way to restore faith in manager Ange Postecoglou following Spurs' mixed start to 2024/2025.
Timo Werner opened the scoring early doors with a thunderous finish past Stefan Ortega in the City net, restoring some much-needed confidence and recording his first successful attempt since March.
Uncertainty surrounds Werner's long-term future at Tottenham, as reports suggest Postecoglou's side may not take up their buy option, so the Germany international's display was a much-needed one - even if he did miss a gaping chance to double their lead.
Midfielder Pape Matar Sarr was then on hand to double Spurs' advantage with a powerful, long-range effort past Ortega and into the bottom corner - gifting some breathing room between the home and away side.
Matheus Nunes grabbed one back for City just before half-time, and did threaten a last-gasp equaliser in the second half's dying moments, with Yves Bissouma clearing a late effort right off the line. However, the north Londoners eventually managed to hold on and seal their place in the Carabao quarter-finals, where they will host Manchester United at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
"It was an important win," said Postecoglou on Tottenham's 2-1 victory over City.
"Obviously in the cup competitions you have to win to continue in it so that is the first thing. Look, you're playing against an unbelievable side and they're going to ask you all sorts of questions and they did today. I thought we defended well as we didn't give away many clear-cut opportunities but we did have to defend and I thought we did that well.
"In our attacking moments we had some really top quality moments and we had some really good chances to finish the game off what we didn't take. But great resilience from the boys to sort of hold out. When you play City they're going to ask you every question there is and for the most part I thought we handled it ok."
Tottenham defender Radu Dragusin's agents fielding approaches
One player who really impressed during the contest was Radu Dragusin, helping to keep City at bay for the entirety of the second half.
The Romania international was called "outstanding" for his display by journalist Graeme Bailey, who also shared an update on his future.
Indeed, it is believed Dragusin's agents are fielding enquiries outside of Tottenham ahead of January, but this is only to keep their options open, as both the player and club currently have no desire for him to change scenery.
Napoli, AC Milan and Juventus are all apparently keen to bring him back to Serie A, but it is believed Postecoglou and co are eager to keep hold of him now, as his N17 career starts to steadily get off the ground after a difficult start.