The last month or so has been brutal for Tottenham Hotspur.
Ange Postecoglou's side have suffered several injuries to star players and been on the wrong end of several eye-catching results.
For example, they lost 6-3 to Liverpool on Sunday evening, 4-3 to Chelsea a couple of weeks ago and 2-1 to newly promoted Ipswich Town before the final international break of the year, and in each of those games, the manager started Radu Dragusin.
The Romanian international has not been great this season, so reports suggesting the club could be set to repeat the mistake that saw them sign him in January should worry fans.
Tottenham Hotspur transfer news
According to a recent report from Football Insider, Tottenham are interested in Atalanta defender Ben Godfrey, a player with 112 Premier League appearances to his name.
In fact, the report has revealed that the North Londoners have already made an approach to take him on a short-term loan as they look for solutions to their current defensive crisis.
However, while their need for a new defender might be the most acute, the Lilywhites aren't the only team interested in the former Everton ace, as reports from earlier this month named Wolverhampton Wanderers and Nottingham Forest as two of four Premier League sides keen.
Now, given Spurs' stature and what they can offer players, we would be surprised if they couldn't get ahead of the competition, but given their ambitions, we aren't sure they should, especially considering how poorly their last centre-back signing from Italy has fared.
Why Spurs shouldn't sign Godfrey
So, simply put, signing Godfrey, even on a short-term loan, would be a poor decision and could end up mimicking Dragusin's move.
The Romanian joined the North Londoners from Serie A side Genoa in January for a fee of around £26.7m, and while there was some excitement around the transfer, he's now one of the most scrutinised players in the squad, and for good reason.
The 22-year-old has been forced into a more prominent role this season due to injuries, and while he hasn't been cataclysmically bad, he has been poor.
For example, in the Europa League, he got himself sent off against Qarabağ FK, gifted Victor Osimhen a goal against Galatasaray and looked utterly out of his depth against Rangers.
He's not fared much better in the Premier League, averaging just 1.30 points per game and being so poor against Ipswich Town that journalist and fan Mitch Fretton described his performance as an "absolute horror show."
Now, while Godfrey's move would be similar in the sense that he'd also be joining from an Italian club, the difference is that he's not an important member of Atalanta's squad.
For example, since joining the Bergamo outfit in the summer, he's made just five appearances, totalling 93 minutes, and was even described as a 'flop' by Italian outlet Tutto Atalanta in September.
Unfortunately for the former Norwich City gem, he hasn't got an impressive body of work in the Premier League to fall back on either, as in the four seasons following his £25m move to Goodison Park, he made just 93 appearances.
Moreover, during his final campaign with the Toffees, the "embarrassing" centre-back, as dubbed by former scout Bryan King, made just 16 appearances across all competitions, meaning he wasn't deemed good enough to help the club avoid relegation.
Ultimately, Spurs' need for some defensive reinforcements is undeniable, but that does not mean they should be signing the first player they come across, and that is what this potential deal feels like.