It's set to be a vitally important summer for Tottenham Hotspur this year.
After a campaign that has been defined by an incredible number of injuries and the emergence of several incredible youngsters, Daniel Levy and Co have to make some big investments in the upcoming transfer window to ensure Ange Postecoglou, or whoever is in the hot seat, can take the club forward next season.
However, while sorting out the right incomings is going to be of paramount importance, it will be just as crucial to keep a hold of the team's best players.
Unfortunately, this could be a problem for the North Londoners, as recent reports have touted one of their stars with a move to Real Madrid, a move reminiscent of Gareth Bale's in 2013.
Tottenham Transfer news
According to a recent report from Spain, Cristian Romero could be on his way to Real Madrid this summer.
The report has revealed that the Argentinian international has not hidden his interest in playing for the Spanish giants and that should they come in for him at the end of the season, he'd 'be willing to take the step.'
The one piece of good news to come from the report is the claim that while Los Blancos like the player, he is only seen as one of a few options at the moment, although the fact his contract expires in two years makes a move for him more realistic than some of their other targets.
While Romero has been out of action for much of this season, his importance to Spurs cannot be underestimated, so losing him to Real would be a disaster, similar to the loss of Bale over a decade ago.
Why Romero's exit would be a Bale repeat
So, there are a couple of reasons why losing Romero this summer would be very reminiscent of Bale's departure in 2013, with the most straightforward being that both players would have gone to Real Madrid.
The second similarity would be their respective importance to the North Londoners.
For example, in his final campaign for the Lilywhites, the Cardiff-born phenomenon was a force of nature, scoring 26 goals and providing ten assists in just 44 appearances, which came out to an average of a goal involvement every 1.22 games.
Now, it's probably fair to say that the former Atalanta star does not have quite the same impact on the team as the Welsh icon did, but that doesn't mean he's not incredibly important, and if Lionel Messi thinks he's "the best defender in the world," he's got to be up there with some of the best in the league.
For example, he's one of the club's co-vice captains, and across his 115 appearances for the team, he's scored seven goals, provided one assist and averaged 1.69 points per game, which is an average significantly reduced by the limited appearances he's made across this dismal campaign.
In fact, it shouldn't come as much of a surprise that the team have struggled so dramatically in defence during the season he and Micky van de Ven have been out of action for significant amounts of time.
Finally, while Levy and Co would likely receive a sizable fee for the World Cup-winning "monster," as dubbed by journalist Charlie Eccleshare, it seems unlikely that they'd be able to sign a defender as good as him and could end up wasting the money on several players as they did in 2013.
Ultimately, Romero is obviously not on the same level as Bale, but were he to leave Spurs for Real Madrid this summer, his move would certainly mirror the Welshman's.