Alan Hutton believes the sale of Cristian Romero by Tottenham would be an “absolute nightmare” at this stage of the transfer window, though the fee of a potential Real Madrid transfer would be “huge”.
Romero has racked up 98 Tottenham appearances in three seasons with the club. He’s helped the north London outfit to fourth and fifth-placed finishes in two of those seasons.
While his temperament sometimes lets him down, Romero is clearly a vital member of the side, and in the best centre-back pairing, alongside Micky van de Ven.
But there is potential that Romero departs soon, with Real Madrid keen, and a recent report stating he could be leaving. While former Premier League defender Hutton feels Tottenham could raise a big fee from that transfer, he thinks it would tear the side apart at the start of the season.
“I think the fee would be huge,” Hutton told Football Insider.
“If you think about what Crystal Palace want for Marc Guehi, around £70million, I know he’s young and he’s had a brilliant Euros, I really like him as a player.
“I know Romero can be rash at times, that is what it is, but I think for what he does, his recovery tackles, he just suits Tottenham.
“I think they’d be talking about that same mark [£70million] and if they don’t hit that I don’t think they’ll want to sell.
“He’s such an important player for Tottenham next to Van de Ven, I think they complement each other.
“To lose Romero at this stage of the transfer window going into the first game of the season would be an absolute nightmare for the manager.”
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Indeed, Spurs will already be without Yves Bissouma, who was an important asset last season, for the start of the campaign, after he was suspended by the club following a social media video.
They would surely rather not lose Romero as well, with little time to find a proper replacement.
Seeing him leave would derail their season at the worst tame, after a stable pre-season which has allowed the squad to gel together more ahead of the second campaign under Ange Postecoglou.