Radu Dragusin confirmed that he turned down the chance to join Bayern Munich in order to sign for Tottenham Hotspur.
The Romanian defender completed his transfer to Spurs this week, leaving Genoa in a deal reportedly worth in excess of £25m.
Bayern tried to hijack the deal at the last minute, but Dragusin pushed ahead with his move to north London. The player’s agent, Florin Manea, said he “cannot believe” his client rejected the Bundesliga champions.
The centre-back has now explained why he chose Spurs, revealing he was convinced it was “the right step” in his career after talking to manager Ange Postecoglou.
“Yes, that is right (I rejected Bayern),” Dragusin said (via The Athletic). “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.
“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.”
Dragusin made his Premier League debut alongside loan signing Timo Werner at Old Trafford on Sunday, coming off the bench in the 85th minute of the 2-2 draw with Manchester United.
