Two Tottenham loanees went head to head in Florence on Sunday night, and neither came out on the winning side: Fiorentina and Juventus drew 2-2, with Radu Dragusin having a late header ruled out and Guglielmo Vicario making the saves that stopped Juve losing.
Both men are away from Tottenham for the whole season. Dragusin left on an initial loan with an obligation to buy that would bring Spurs €17.5m, while Vicario is on a free loan in Turin until June 2027, with Juventus holding an €8m option that they are increasingly expected to use.
Further north, Mikey Moore was busy too. The 19-year-old started for Köln in their home derby against Bayer Leverkusen, a few days after earning his first England Under-21 call-up.
How did the Florence game go?
It was a proper Serie A scrap at the Stadio Artemio Franchi. Mateo Pellegrino headed Fiorentina in front after four minutes from a Pedro Gonçalves corner, and Nick Woltemade equalised on 32 minutes after Randal Kolo Muani broke clear.
Alieu Njie put the hosts back in front from close range nine minutes into the second half, following a set piece. Juventus hit back again on 66 minutes, when Bremer forced in a Douglas Luiz corner with his head and shoulder, and that is how it finished.
Dragusin’s night: a disallowed goal and a hard mark
Dragusin played the full 90 minutes and was in the middle of almost every big moment. Juventus wanted a first-half penalty when Kolo Muani’s shot struck his arm, but the arm was by his side and nothing was given.
Late on, the Romanian thought he had won it with a header, only for the goal to be ruled out because he pushed Bremer. One Florence paper felt Bremer made the most of the contact, but judged the referee’s call a defensible one.
The local ratings were tough. One Florence site gave Dragusin 5 out of 10, saying he gave Juventus too much space for their first goal and was beaten by Bremer for the second. It follows the warning from Florence journalist Luca Calamai before kick-off, who rated Dragusin’s loan at 30 out of 100 so far.
Dragusin himself was positive afterwards. “We knew it was a very important game for us and for the fans. We fought well against a strong team. We didn’t win, but we played well,” he told DAZN. “We’re growing as a team, and little by little we’re showing that we’re a tough side with very strong players.”
Vicario keeps Juventus in it
At the other end, Vicario had a busier night than he would have liked. In Turin he was judged to carry some blame for Njie’s goal, but one Juventus site still gave him 7 out of 10 because of what came after Bremer’s equaliser.
With Juventus pushing for a winner and leaving gaps, Vicario made two important late saves, from Marco Brescianini in stoppage time and from Franco Mastantuono. Without them, Luciano Spalletti’s side would have gone home with nothing, and the draw still left them six points off fourth.
Mikey Moore starts the derby, then heads to England
Moore started on the left of Köln’s midfield against Leverkusen on Sunday afternoon. It wasn’t a happy derby: Aleix García scored from a free-kick after seven minutes, Patrik Schick made it 2-0 with five minutes left, and Saïd El Mala’s stoppage-time strike was only a consolation.
The Spurs loanee had two shots, one on target, and was booked straight after half-time before being replaced by Luca Waldschmidt on 84 minutes. Schick’s goal was set up by Ibrahim Maza, the Leverkusen playmaker Tottenham have been watching. The defeat leaves Köln 15th on nine points after nine games, while Leverkusen climbed to fifth.
When are England Under-21s playing?
Moore now joins Lee Carsley’s 24-man Under-21 squad for the first time, after scoring twice and providing an assist as captain in his first three games for the Under-20s during the last international break. England play Portugal on Friday, 13 November and France on Monday, 16 November, both at Ashton Gate with 7.30pm kick-offs. They are the squad’s first warm-up games for next summer’s Under-21 Euros.
He won’t be the only Spurs face in camp. Archie Gray, who captained the Under-21s as they qualified for the Euros during the last break, is in the squad again, and Moore’s Köln team-mate Jahmai Simpson-Pusey is there too. Last time out, Portugal were captained by Mateus Fernandes and France by Mathys Tel, who left Elland Road on crutches on Saturday after Jayden Bogle’s challenge.
Verdict: Vicario’s loan is working, Dragusin’s still needs a big night
For Spurs, these loans are as much about money as football. Vicario is doing exactly what Juventus need, and every save like the ones on Sunday makes that €8m option look more likely to be taken up.
Dragusin’s case is messier. He is playing every week, which is what he needed after his knee injury, but nights like this one, where a winning goal is chalked off and the marks are poor, don’t help anyone convince Florence he is the defender they hoped for. Moore, meanwhile, is learning the Bundesliga the hard way, and an England Under-21 call at 19 says the loan is doing its job.
