Manchester United brought in two centre backs this summer but also had a top Premier League defender on the wish list.
Ineos simply had to invest in new centre backs this summer.
Manchester United have thrown considerable money at solving the centre back issues in years gone by, but the problems remained.
The likes of Victor Lindelof, Harry Maguire and Raphael Varane have all been brought in but have either blown hot and cold or not lived up to their price tags.
Lisandro Martinez at least impresses when fit but United had to invest in new centre backs.
United pulled off the signing of Leny Yoro from Lille before landing Matthijs de Ligt from Bayern Munich alongside Noussair Mazraoui.
Manchester United wanted Cristian Romero
United will be pleased with those two centre back additions.
Yoro is a potential star of the future and De Ligt is a favourite of boss Erik ten Hag from their time together at Ajax.
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United did have other options in mind though with Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite still a target after United’s summer pursuit.
A new name is now emerging though as Argentinian reporter Gaston Edul claims that United wanted Tottenham Hotspur’s Cristian Romero.
It’s stated that United were rivalling Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid in the race for Romero.
However, Tottenham wouldn’t even put a price tag on Romero; they were that set on keeping him in North London.
Spurs paid £42million to sign Romero, as per Sky Sports, and have seen him become a ‘brilliant’ defender in the eyes of boss Ange Postecoglou, as he told SPURSPLAY last year.
Tottenham may receive offers down the line but it remains to be seen whether United maintain the interest in Romero.
Lisandro Martinez would have loved Romero deal
Luring Romero away from Tottenham was never going to be cheap or easy.
One man who would have surely loved the move to materialise though is United defender Lisandro Martinez.
Romero is Martinez’s centre back partner for Argentina and bringing that connection to Old Trafford would have been quite the sight.
The pair are close from their international duties and Martinez messaged Romero saying ‘I love you, brother’ this summer.
Romero even stated, as quoted by SportsKeeda, that he knew United fans would end up loving Martinez.
There is a clear bond between the two centre backs but United’s plans to deploy them together at Old Trafford were ultimately foiled.
With De Ligt and Yoro now on board, it would be a surprise to see another right-footed centre back arrive at United, so the interest in Romero may well be left behind.