Tottenham Hotspur centre-back Cristian Romero could reportedly be prised away from the club for a cut-price fee in the summer transfer window, as both Atletico and Real Madrid continue to circle for the Argentine.
Speculation over the 26-year-old’s future is growing like wildfire after he aimed a veiled dig at the club’s medical team for failing to get him back on the pitch quickly enough during a defensive injury crisis.
It’s also common knowledge that Romero has become increasingly frustrated by the lack of investment in the playing squad in his role as one of Ange Postecoglou’s vice-captains.
All that is looking increasingly certain to add up to a summer exit for a player who has been at Tottenham since arriving initially on loan from Atalanta in 2021, making 115 appearances so far in the process.
LaLiga heavyweights Atletico Madrid recently stormed into the race to snap up the World Cup winner, as they look to beat out their city rivals in the process – given Real’s longstanding interest in Romero.
Diego Simeone is said to be keen for Romero to link up with international teammates like Rodrigo De Paul, Julian Alvarez, Angel Correa and Nahuel Molina at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano Stadium.
And now a fresh report from Football Insider has revealed that Tottenham could be willing to accept an offer of around £50million (€60m / $64m) for Romero, despite Daniel Levy previously valuing the central defender at double that figure.
The reasoning behind that drop in valuation is the recent injury issues that have bugged the Argentina international, while his form at club level has been inconsistent at best over the past year.
If Spurs were to fetch close to that proposed figure, it would still represent a profit on a player who remains under contract until June 2027 and who cost £42m four years ago.
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Tottenham told long-term defensive target is ‘better than Romero’
As Spurs made their moves in January to try and bring in extra defensive help, a former player and manager of the club cited Marc Guehi as a perfect fit to play alongside Micky van den Ven at the heart of Ange Postecoglou’s defence.
Tottenham saw an offer rebuffed for the Crystal Palace and England star on deadline day in the winter window but maintain a strong interest in recruiting Guehi this summer.
A fee in the region of £65-70m is likely to be needed to get their man, but if Spurs can offload Romero then the addition of Guehi really is a no-brainer – if they convince the player into a move across the capital.
And Tim Sherwood was pushing hard for that move late in the January window, telling Sky Sports before it shut: “If you’re going to try and get Marc Guehi now, you are going to pay over the odds. I think he is worth paying over the odds.
“The two best centre-backs Tottenham have at the club are Cristian Romero and Micky Van de Ven. And unless you can go and get somebody better than them two there’s no point of bringing a body in for the sake of it.
“With Marc Guehi he is better than Romero in my opinion but he’s not better than Van de Ven, they are completely different but he will be one of the best centre-backs they can get.”
Better than Romero is a bold call from Sherwood, although on the evidence of their respective performances this season there is a strong argument to suggest he could be right.
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