Aston Villa could battle it out with Atletico Madrid for the signing of Tottenham star Cristian Romero
Cristian Romero‘s long-term future at Tottenham Hotspur appears to be in doubt, as he has been heavily linked with an exit in recent weeks.
When fit and firing, the Argentina international is one of the best centre-backs in the Premier League. The 26-year-old, who shone for Argentina as they won the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, has made 115 Premier League appearances for the North London side. It could have easily been more this season if not for his injury problems.
Cristian Romero has missed most of this 2024/25 campaign due to injury. The defender has only been limited to 14 Premier League starts after missing games with hamstring and quadriceps issues, but he returned to action before the international break.
Once deemed untouchable, Spurs are now open to entertaining offers for arguably their best defender. It is understood that should the South American star not accept a contract extension until the end of the season, the Hotspur Way chiefs will cash him in. Atletico Madrid have made Romero a defensive priority for the upcoming summer transfer window. It looks like the Tottenham star is open to joining Atletico Madrid, having recently held private talks with their boss Diego Simeone.
However, one Premier League club is now planning to potentially scupper Atletico’s move for the 2022 World Cup winner. According to an exclusive report from FootballTransfers, Aston Villa boss Unai Emery is aiming to sign Romero this summer. The Spurs defender wants a new challenge, and the Villans are ready to offer him a ‘tempting opportunity’.
The Birmingham-based club are willing to offer the Argentine a five-year contract, which is exactly the kind of long-term deal he wants at this stage of his career. Aston Villa have been going from strength to strength under Unai Emery and remain in a good position to qualify for the Champions League for the second season running.
They are still alive in the Champions League, having fixed a quarter-final encounter with Paris Saint-Germain after dispatching Belgian side Club Brugge in the last round. Villa have not been short of showing ambition in the transfer market in the recent transfer windows and will fancy their chances of making another high-profile signing this summer.
The aforementioned report adds Spurs are open to parting ways with Romero at the end of the season. They are preparing for his exit and are already hunting for a quality replacement.
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The Tottenham bosses have lowered their demands and are now ready to accept £50m for the Cordoba-born defensive wall, but should a bidding war between Atletico Madrid and Villa erupt, that price will easily shoot up. Now that there is seemingly an acceptance that Romero wants to pursue a new challenge, we’d surely want to get a lot more than £50m and reinvest those funds into a reliable, injury-free centre-half.