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Tottenham star center back Cristian Romero has made it clear that he's thinking about things other than his current club, even though he is the vice captain of a side in crisis mode, comfortably in the bottom five places of the Premier League but with everything to play for in the Europa League.

Romero is one of the best players in the Tottenham squad but not untouchable, as his inconsistent performances have become a bit of a burden for Spurs fans to bear. For example, Romero cost the team in recent Premier League defeats to Wolves and Nottingham Forest with some shocking defending, even getting subbed at the halfway point of the most recent loss to Forest.

If Romero is dreaming of a move to Spain, Tottenham may be inclined to grant his requet if they receive a satisfactory transfer offer. Romero's overly aggressive playing style, recent injury woes, and apparent lack of commitment to the club erase any possibility of him being untouchable.

Tottenham could eye Marc Guehi

On his YouTube channel, top Tottenham reporter Alasdair Gold discussed the possibility of Spurs selling Cristian Romero this summer. Per Gold, if that were to happen, he feels the club would "make a big push" to go after Crystal Palace star Marc Guehi, who is someone the club "really like".

Guehi would obviously be a very difficult signing to pull off, but there's no question that he'd be an upgrade over Romero, particularly in the man-marking and consistency departments. A star at Palace for years after Chelsea rather foolishly didn't keep him around, Guehi has been the most coveted center back on the Premier League transfer market in each of the past several windows, though Palace have successfully rebuffed interest in Guehi from the likes of Newcastle.

So, again, it won't be easy for Spurs to sign him, but there's a sense from fans that even if Romero's future weren't on the line here, Guehi is the sort of caliber of player Tottenham should be going after anyway if they want to consistently make the top four. Guehi is a proven England international and an elite Premier League central defender who can go toe-to-toe with the absolute best strikers in this league.

As Tottenham continue to sour on Romero and grow tired of some of his antics on and off the pitch, the talented Argentinian international's exit could yield a dream get like Guehi. More likely, it will lead to a mediocre replacement, knowing Daniel Levy's track record, but if Tottenham want to show that they are turning a new leaf, truly, then signing Guehi would be a major step in the right direction.

It has been a whirlwind of a 2024/25 season for Tottenham, who have gone from contending to the Champions League to ranking 16th in the Premier League. And yet, Spurs may actually have a better shot at qualifying for the Champions League this season than they did last season, because all they have to do is beat underdogs Bodo Glimt and then either Athletic Club or fellow Premier League stragglers Manchester United to win the Europa League. OK, that might be a tough task, especially if they have to face Athletic in the Final, but it's a doable task for Spurs.

In addition to having a lot to play for in the Europa League, Tottenham still have loose ends to tie up in the final five games of the 2024/25 Premier League season. There is more than just pride to play for, as these games will tell the decision-makers in North London who belongs in the future and who should go.

In the last game against Nottingham Forest, Richarlison came up big, scoring one header after nearly scoring a headed goal earlier to salvage something out of an otherwise putrid home game. Tottenham supporters were literally raining down boos on the players at the half, so Richarlison's goal was an important silver lining for both the team and himself personally.

Richarlison is waking up in front of goal

Since coming over from Everton, Richarlison's Tottenham career has been a disaster, largely due to injuries. But with four goals in his last five Premier League appearances, Pombo is quietly showing the difference-making quality and eye for goal that made him such a hero for the Toffees over the years.

Tottenham pretty much know that current starting striker Dominic Solanke isn't the answer. He is a high-profile waste of money and the kind of profile Tottenham don't need up top. They already have a bevy of quality, young creators who can win off the dribble, get open off the ball, and provide assists. What they need is someone who can fluidly work with them but also have the instincts to bag around 20 goals in a season. Solanke isn't that guy.

But maybe Richarlison is. Chances are, Tottenham are going to have to pluck a young striker on the transfer market, such as recent opponent Hugo Ekitike of Eintracht Frankfurt, but the best options, Ekitike included, are going to be high-competition targets. Tottenham could end up empty-handed or signing someone who isn't ready to start every game, which is why it's important for them know how much they can expect from Richarlison.

Tottenham center back Cristian Romero has made it clear that he isn't 100 percent focused on Spurs, as the vice captain recently stated that he would be interested in making a move to LaLiga to collect all the top five European leagues as though they were infinity stones. Instead of dodging the question or affirming his commitment to the club like most vice captains at a big club in crisis mode would to close the season, Romero decided to let all the laundry hang out to dry.

Needless to say, Romero's comments didn't sit well with most Tottenham fans, who took them to be quite self-centered. And since Romero has made costly defensive errors in Spurs last two Premier League defeats to Wolves and Nottingham Forest, the questions regarding his consistency are beginning to crop up again.

Romero is one of the five best players in the Tottenham squad right now, but he isn't irreplaceable. His playing style has been grating to many fans because of how aggressive and error-prone it is, even if the positives generally outweigh the negatives. Tottenham have a better central defender in Micky van de Ven, and there's a feeling that Kevin Danso, once named the best player in Ligue 1, should surpass Romero if given the opportunity to do so.

Tottenham want 60 million for Cristian Romero

As such, Romero's name is already being floated around in Tottenham transfer rumors. According to a report from Tom Allnutt of The Times Sport, Tottenham would want at least 60 million pounds in order to sell the Argentinian defender, given they spent more than 50 million pounds on him in 2022.

If that's the case, then Tottenham are going to need to readjust their expectations. Romero is the most valuable of Spurs sellable assets, so setting the asking price high initially is just smart - and, honestly, obvious - negotiation tactics here. But realistically, it's hard to envision a team willing to spend more than 60 million pounds on a highly up-and-down player coming off an injury plagued season. The fact that Tottenham were so poor defensively won't reflect on Romero well either.

Tottenham may have to settle for somewhere closer to 50 million pounds, making a slight loss on Romero despite the fact that his reputation was enhanced globally after the transfer. But when you look at the actual play on the pitch, Romero made more errors for Tottenham than he did at Atalanta, where he had less pressure to perform.

The clubs that want Romero will be in the lower tier of the Champions League level, and those clubs usually don't spend elite-tier money on center backs. And Romero is closer to "good" than "elite". Tottenham should hold out for all that they can, but they may find less interest in Romero than they had hoped.

Tottenham left winger Mathys Tel has been taking advantage of a new opportunity afforded to him in the Spurs starting lineup with Son Heung-min out injured, and he has been standing out above his peers in the attacking trident.

Tel has that something special about him when he moves with the ball at his feet. His combination of explosiveness and agility enable him to create shooting opportunities for himself off the dribble above the capabilities shown by his teammates, and he has been one of Spurs leading chance creators since getting more opportunities.

The talent is unsurprising. Bayern Munich invested 20 million euros in Tel as a transfer from Rennes in 2022 back when his market value was 2 million euros and most people had never heard of him. Now, they are looking for 50 million euros in order to make his transfer to Tottenham permanet in the summer transfer window.

Tottenham can get a discount on Mathys Tel

Given Tel is valued at 40 million euros by Transfermarkt, a 50 million euro fee is far from outlandish, but Spurs, always looking to take the cheapest route possible, have been balking at the idea of paying full price for the Bayern forward.

They may get their wish of keeping Tel permanently without breaking the bank. Because according to a report from Kicker's Georg Holzner, via iMiaSanMia, Bayern Munich are now willing to negotiate a price less than 50 million euros for Mathys Tel with Tottenham. In fact, they are reportedly willing to accept "well under" that initially agreed option to buy and would be eager to get a deal done.

Now if that sounds too good to be true from a Tottenham perspective, then that's because it very well could be. At the same time, it is entirely plausible, because Bayern have been making some seriously head-scratching logical errors with Max Eberl at the helm, including their seeming vendetta against star center back Kim Min-jae.

Tel has been impressive lately

At no point since signing Tel have Bayern shown that they value him as a part of their future, and he, like Ryan Gravenberch, looks like yet another potential investment by the Bundesliga giants who could go on to have an excellent career in the Premier League after being unfairly passed over by the Bavarians.

With a horrible 2024/25 Premier League season winding down for Tottenham, this is the perfect time for both the club and supporters to take stock of the current members of the squad. Since Spurs are in the bottom five of the league table, even a Europa League title triumph won't prevent a house clearing in the summer 2025 transfer window.

Let's take a look at the 25 main members of the Tottenham senior squad right now in 2024/25 and rank them in order from worst to first.

Power ranking every player in the Tottenham squad right now

The veteran goalkeeper brings up the caboose of the squad rankings, as it's been three years since Fraser Forster has registered a save percentage of at least 70. He has started 20 games over the past two seasons, allowing around two goals per 90 minutes and more than one post-shot expected goal allowed in total.

Tottenham are set to bring Ben Davies back for another season, but that's really part of the problem for Spurs; they are unable to move on from aging players who aren't helping them enough. Davies is a versatile enough player and there are worse veteran center backs in the Premier League, but he's 31 years old and provides no real future value to the team. Any minutes to him are much better off going to Kevin Danso.

Former Slavia Prague goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky has had a rough go-around in four Premier League starts this season, but his work in the Europa League shows that the 22-year-old prospect has serious potential. I'd rather see him in the lineup than Forster, because once he gets through the growing pains, he could develop into a good keeper.

Although it may seem like Yves Bissouma is too low on the list, a thorough examination of his body of work this season reveals that he's been given more opportunities than his production on the pitch merits. Bissouma is the worst midfielder in the Tottenham squad despite having a 25 million pound transfer pedigree and having been a starter for both Brighton and Tottenham for years.

Right now, Bissouma isn't adding anything to the midfield. He's not secure in possession, he doesn't get into goal-scoring situations, he can't create many chances, and his progression and ball-winning are both fairly mediocre for someone who touts these as his strengths. Tottenham can easily find a better box-to-box midfielder.

Thank goodness we've slowed down from the rather obtuse comparisons to Neymar that certainly do no favors to this burgeoning young talent, but Mikey Moore did deserve high praise for a scintillating Europa League debut that will hopefully be the harbinger of a stardom to come. Tottenham have been careful to manage minutes and expectations around Moore, whose path to playing time is difficult with a glut of other attackers trying to prove themselves as 10's or wingers.

Moore is a skilled dribbler with electric acceleration. He is one of a handful of intriguing young talents in the Tottenham squad, and while he may have the most upside of any of the prospects, the 17-year-old still has the longest way to go before becoming a key part of the first team.

Summer signing Wilson Odobert has done enough to merit consideration for starts, and his last appearance in the XI against Nottingham Forest was an overall positive one despite the 2-1 loss for Spurs.

Odobert is an above-average athlete with a willingness to create and go for goal. He's versatile enough to play multiple positions in the front three, which could come in handy since his future as a starter is even more up in the air with Mathys Tel potentially securing a longer stay in North London.

Former Juventus prospect Radu Dragusin is yet another prime defensive talent whom the Bianconeri let go too quickly, and it was Tottenham who somewhat unsurprisingly snapped him up in winter 2024 after a half-season breakout in Genoa.

Dragusin doesn't seem to fit Tottenham exactly, which is why he's ranked so low on this list and why he finds it so hard to get starts, barring injuries to the top two center backs. But Dragusin is a good footballer, even if his future may very well be outside of the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Tottenham spent roughly 40 million pounds this past summer to sign perhaps the biggest midfield teenage sensation in English football, Archie Gray of Leeds. Whlie Ange Postecoglou surely must refrain from the experiment of starting the uber-taletned 19-year-old out of position at center back, the fact that Gray can do a relatively passable job there at a Premier League level is another endorsement of his all-around quality.

Gray is very much a set part of the future of the Tottenham squad, and whlie he has started 14 games with 9 substitute appearances (similar numbers to Bissouma), he's still very obviously raw. Still, he's shown enough for me to rate him comfortably above Bissouma.

Dominic Solanke is looking like a bigger waste of money on Spurs' part with each passing Matchday, and while even a pessimist can appreciate his all-around ability, it hasn't actually paid any real dividends for a disjointed Tottenham attack that revolves around a No. 9 who lacks goal-scoring instincts.

The fact of the matter is that Solanke has scored fewer goals than youngster Brennan Johnson and as many goals as playmakers James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski. If Tottenham can find a way out of Solanke, you had better believe they will take it.

There's nothing about Djed Spence that screams out "great player" at you, but he does so many things solidly and can occasionally put together a Man of the Match performance. Spence is never going to be a nailed-on starter for Tottenham, but it's hard to find a better rotational fullback to bring in against the right matchups - and I'm not just talking about restricting your search to the Premire League. Spence is such a good effort player on offense and defense.

I like Pape Sarr in midfield, and he has a future as a key rotational piece for Tottenham. Again, there's nothing about him that stands out enough to make you feel certain he is the future of this team, but he's willing to work and good enough at a bunch of different things as an 8 that you can say he should be a cog in the wheel. Sarr has provided five goal contributions in the 2024/25 season.

Maybe this is a little high for Richarlison considering he's done pretty close to nothing since joining Spurs from Everton, but it's hard to ignore how much injuries have played a role in that. At Everton, Richarlison was legitimately one of the most important players in the Premier League and pretty much clawed the Toffees out of relegation.

Richarlison is a flat-out better striker than Solanke, and it's pretty obvious to see that he provides more of what Tottenham need up top with his goal-scoring and movement off the ball. He just wants to score. Richarlison has bagged three in his last four Premier League outings, and that shows that when the Brazilian is healthy, he is capable of making a difference for Spurs.

Out of anyone on this list, Brennan Johnson just might be the most likely to shoot up the rankings, and it shouldn't be lost on anyone who follows this club that he is the leading scorer in the Premier League with 11 goals.

Johnson has a long way to go in terms of realizing his potential and maximizing the positions he gets into, because he's frustratingly inconsistent at a technical evel. But that will come for the 23-year-old. He has to do more creatively and on the ball when it comes to creating chances, but off the ball, he's one of the best in the entire Premier League at getting into threatening positions. That matters a lot.

Rodrigo Bentancur is just a solid footballer. He works hard, he gets into good positions in the box, he works to get open on set pieces, he keeps the ball moving in possession, and he has become a great shield for the defense which was something he used to struggle at with Juventus.

Since joining Tottenham, Bentancur has been one of Spurs most important players, and I don't see that changing, even as his starts begin to dwindle with more, younger midfielders coming in. He is still an asset to Tottenham.

Selling Destiny Udogie would be a move of unbridled stupidity, so, thankfully, it doesn't appear that Tottenham are contemplating such a transfer despite the apparent interest in him. Udogie is a talented, versatile player who can act as an auxillary midfielder or winger on either side of the pitch, and he has that left back spot nailed down.

Under a manager who can create more midfield stability, Udogie should become an even bigger weapon, and I think he's one of the highest-upside players in the Premier League when you look at how unique his profile is. Even this season, Udogie has been an overall positive with a team-high 3.1 tackles per game while allowing just 0.6 dribbles completed per match.

When you watch Mathys Tel play for Tottenham, you can just tell he is cut from a different cloth with how he moves. He glides about the pitch and has a different gear to his movements in comparison to his teamates, fluildly and agily beating defenders in one-on-ones.

Tel is the best player on Tottenham at creating shots for himself and others, and with more seasoning, he could be world-class. Tottenham need to seriously think about acquiring him from Bayern Munich, and while 60 million pounds is indeed a lot of money, it isn't far off from Tel's true market value.

Named the best player in Ligue 1 by The Guardian's French football coverage from GFFN a couple of years ago, Kevin Danso is another potential world-class player who has mostly been lurking on the Tottenham bench this season after being signed in the winter transfer window.

Danso is a better fit than last year's January center back signing Dragusin, because he's very calm and an elite passer. There are few young center backs in Europe who are as poised on the ball as Danso, and he almost never has to make an intervention on the ball because his reading of the game is so good. A year from now, I wouldn't be surprised if his reputation surpasses Cristian Romero's.

Guglielmo Vicario is one of the better goalkeepers in the Premier League, and Tottenham would probably be worryingly close to the relegation zone with a different keeper. When he was out with an injury earlier this season, you could see how much Tottenham were suffering. Even though Vicario has been mistake-prone in recent games and has an unorthodox style of goalkeeping, I'd still consider him one of Spurs best players.

Dejan Kulusevski has been utilized as a box-to-box midfielder and a right winger this season, and while I like him significantly more in the latter role (it is more natural for him, too), his willingness and ability to be a midfielder has helped Brennan Johnson get much-needed experience in the starting lineup to go with a much-needed 11 goals.

The former Atalanta, Parma, and Juventus winger has been a fixture at Tottenham over the last couple of seasons. I'd like to see his development progress more than it has, especially when it comes to his end product, but the positives with Kulu will always outweigh the negatives.

It may seem presumptuous to have Lucas Bergvall above the likes of Kulusevski and Vicario, but when you look at some of Spurs most important results this season and stack up how each midfielder has played, it's not out of line to state that the young No. 8 has been the best box-to-box player in the side.

Bergvall just has that something special about him. He is capable of changing games from nothing with a charge into the final third and a timely shot or pass. Bergvall is mature with his decision-making beyond what you'd expect from a 19-year-old, and his motor as a progressor and defender are top-notch. Tottenham have a real talent in Bergvall, and I think he will be truly unlocked with a new manager.

While Cristian Romero can be a frustrating player because of his inconsistency, overly aggressive playing style, and occasional boneheaded decisions, there is no doubting his overall talent as a center back and that the positives of his risky approach can pay off big-time for Tottenham when it all works.

Romero is a real asset going forward both in terms of his passing and ability to carry the ball. The Argentinian international is so good at hounding forwards into mistakes and nicking the ball off them to start counterattacks.

Micky van de Ven gets a slight nod over Romero because even though he makes fewer interventions than the former Juventus and Atalanta man, the ex-Wolfsburg star is a much better covering defender and an even better athlete.

It is truly scary how fast Van de Ven is, and his combination of speed and effort is just about unbeatable at the center back position. Still only 24, Van de Ven is the total package in terms of his physical ability, reading of the game, and technical quality.

I know there are Tottenham fans who would want Son Heung-min to be ranked substantially lower than this because of how poor he's been in the 2024/25 season, but I can't bring myself to dock him too much for what is obviously dysfunction caused by an unideal striker situation and an even more problematic managerial one.

Son is a legend of not just Tottenham and the Premier League but of world football as a whole. He was exceptional in the 2023/24 season and once carried Spurs to a Champions League Final appearance. Son was brilliant to start the 2024/25 campaign before things fell apart, and it would be dirty to place him any lower than third - even a ranking lower than first stings a bit.

There is no doubt in my mind that Pedro Porro is one of the best right backs in world football. The Portuguese international is literall everything you want from a fullback. He works hard, he defends well one-on-one, he carries possession at a world-class level, he creates clear-cut chances, and he can take the impetus to win you football games from a position that usually doesn't produce game-changers.

When a team is as bad as Tottenham has been, you begin to appreciate the players who perform at a high level even when everything else is crumbling around them, and that's perhaps the best bit of praise I can give to Porro. He is one of the best signings Tottenham has made in a while with the rare ability to both defend and create at an elite level.

Maybe James Maddison is a bit controversial to place in first, but I am a big believer in the notion that the players with the best technique and footballing brains are ultimately the ones who win you games and the ones you want to build your team around.

Maddison is third on the team in goal contributions as a midfielder with 15, and while he is more of an attacking midfielder, he has often ceded positions close to the striker to carry the ball and play deeper. As bad as Tottenham have been, Maddison has remained excellent and one of the best in his role in the league, drawing constant fouls with his intelligent dribbling in short areas, and he's even been a willing defender when pressing.

Undoubtedly, Tottenham will have a lot of work to do this summer. The pieces are clearly there for Spurs to return to being a top club in England, and they have shown resiliency in the Europa League with a semifinal berth on tap after knocking out third-placed Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt with a 1-0 win on the road (in one of the toughest stadium to play in Germany, I might add).

But even if Tottenham win the Europa League and qualify for next season's Champions League, this season won't be taken as a success with the team toiling in the bottom five of the Premier League. With a strong summer and a clear idea of which pieces to move forward with and which to discard, Tottenham can come back from this.

Before all that happens, there is still a major trophy on the line and five matches left to play in the Premier League. Here are the three biggest problems Tottenham have to look at in these final games and then work on solving in the summer.

Not enough attacking star power

Tottenham don't have enough star power to compete with the teams in the top four of the Premier League. Nottingham Forest are threatening Champions League football, but they might honestly be a one-off. The teams that consistently compete in the top four of the Premier League all have players who are among the best attackers in world football: Mohamed Salah, Bukayo Saka, Erling Haaland, Cole Palmer, and Alexander Isak all come to mind here.

Right now, Spurs don't have anyone. James Maddison has been the best of the bunch this season, and he's a step below the world-class level. And it looks like that's now the case for Son Heung-min as he approaches the age of 33 this July with Saudi Pro League rumors swirling.

Brennan Johnson, Dejan Kulusevski, and potentially Bayern Munich loan signing Mathys Tel are all quality pieces, but Tottenham don't have any real stars who can hit 25-30 goal contributions in a season. They may not even have a player hit 20 in the 2024/25 campaign when it's all said and done, and, worse yet, they still don't have a real top striker after Harry Kane's departure to Bayern.

Tottenham are going to have to unearth a real star in the front line if they want to shoot back up the table. The game is driven by difference-makers in the attack, and while Tottenham have a handful of good players, those assorted pieces won't be able to come together without a game-changer. On the bright side, Tel and Johnson have shown signs that they have the potential to be that kind of player for Spurs in the future.

Big Ange is a lame duck coach

I don't think anybody seriously buys Ange Postecoglou as the future manager of Tottenham Hotspur beyond this season. His attitude has begun to grate the fanbase, because it's one thing to be cocky and downtalk the fans when you are winning: it is another thing entirely to behave in this manner when you are at the helm of a historically poor team despite consecutive transfer windows of investment that more prestigious managers did not receive in the preceding seasons.

Postecoglou's seat is hotter than any other manager in world football, and Tottenham have been looking at replacements for months. Coaches like Marco Silva and Thomas Frank have been closely linked to Spurs. It seems increasingly likely that Postecoglou will be out of Tottenham, and it says a lot that many fans feel even a Europa League triumph would not be enough to save the former Celtic coach.

Tottenham are in a situation where everyone thinks their manager will be out. That's an immediate issue. It affects the status of the team and the culture, and you get the sense that players like Cristian Romero are so openly talking about futures outside North London because the stench of Big Ange has permeated so strongly across the grounds that its hard to see the future clearly through this fog of actively dissipating excrement.

Crack in the midfield spine

Tottenham have such a porous and disorganized midfield, and while a lot of that can be blamed on Ange Postecoglou's elementary school tactics that often leave cavernous gaps in the system, Spurs have been missing a critical profile in the middle of the park.

Right now, Spurs don't have a midfield who can control play. They don't have someone who can dictate the game, playmake from deep, and shield the defense. Rodrigo Bentancur is their best defender in the middle of the park, and he's not a real anchor point. In Lucas Bergvall, Tottenham have a highly promising box-to-box player, and Pape Sarr is not half bad either. Then, of course, there's James Maddison as an attacking playmaker, and both he and Dejan Kulusevski are more than adequate progressors on the ball.

But Tottenham have a massive crack in the proverbial windshield - a piece of jagged, shattered glass that draws a singular line over what would otherwise be a perfectly suitable window. As ugly as that crack is and as much as Tottenham are currently hamstrung by their lack of a midfield controller who can facilitate play, I'd rather have to make one big replacement that would make a night-and-day difference rather than toying around with trying to make two or three tweaks to patch up a bunch of small cracks.

Tottenham already did well to bring in Archie Gray and Bergvall as young, future stars in the midfield, and, again, they have a few experienced players who are, at worst, good enough to be useful members of a rotation. But until Spurs get that stabilizing presence at the base of the midfield, they are going to struggle to compete with the best teams in the Premier League that do have a good base like crosstown rivals Chelsea and Arsenal.

As bad as things have gotten for Tottenham in the Premier League this season, these are the times when you learn a lot about your club and the resiliency of your players. You learn who is worth keeping around and building the team around, while, conversely, you learn who isn't interested in being here and won't fight for the badge.

It is starting to look like Tottenham star center back Cristian Romero falls into the latter category. Despite being one of the most physically talented central defenders in the Premier League, Romero has now turned in two costly performances in back-to-back Premier League fixtures against Wolves and Nottingham Forest, even getting hooked off the pitch early in the Forest defeat after looking like he flat-out didn't even want to play in the game.

While Romero was significantly better last week in the clean sheet win over Eintracht Frankfurt to help Tottenham punch their ticket to the Europa League semifinals, the way Romero phoned in his performances against Wolves and Nottingham Forest is highly concerning. And for as talented as Romero is, he's earned a reputation for being an inconsistent, streaky defender whom Tottenham are having trouble trusting because of his overly aggressive style of play that seems to place the team second.

Cristian Romero wants to go to LaLiga

And now, Romero has committed a more grievous defense than even playing poorly on the pitch. With Tottenham in crisis mode, the club's vice captain publicly admitted in an interview that his mind is on potentially joining another club in the summer transfer window and that he'd love to play in LaLiga for the simple sake of collecting playing in other leagues like they were infinity stones.

Here is what he told Argentinian reporter Gaston Edul of the famous TyC Sports in an interview for his YouTube channel, as relayed by the Spurs Express:

“We're in the Europa League semi-finals, and I want to finish the season on a high note. After that, we'll see. My focus is always on growing and looking for new places to continue developing.”

Romero should know better

I have seen worse examples of players openly flirting with the idea of leaving a club, but the context of this quote from Romero is absolutely troubling. Romero is the vice captain for a Tottenham team that is rebuilding in the Premier League amidst a historically putrid season. They are facing a likely coaching change this summer, another potential squad overhaul, and further rebuilding while juggling a Europa League semifinal on the other hand with the potential to still qualify for the Champions League outright by winning that tournament.

While Romero does acknowledge Tottenham being in the Europa League semifinal, he uses it to try to soften the fact that he is basically saying that he wants out and that he can't see himself developing at Tottenham. And Spurs fans see right past that, especially since, well, Romero's quote itself and his recent performances at Wolves and Nottingham Forest highlight that he still has a long way to go in his own development.

Romero isn't some young rookie making quotes he shouldn't. Again, he's the vice captain and 26 years old. He knows what he's doing, and either he should know better or, more likely, he means exactly what he is saying and doesn't care about Tottenham or the fans.

As talented as Romero is, he's not good enough to be disparaging the club at this time or focusing on anything other than helping the team at this crucial moment. Tottenham need to seriously question if he wants to be here and if they even want to move forward in the future with him. Micky van de Ven and Kevin Danso are both starting-caliber center backs, and Spurs can always sell him and use that money to buy someone else like Dean Huijsen, who, by the way, had a much better season than Romero.

Tottenham could have been blown out by Nottingham Forest on Monday night, as the boos rained down upon the players from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as Spurs headed into the break with a 2-0 deficit.

In the end, Tottenham buckled down to play significantly better football in the second half, with striker Richarlison waking up and pulling one back with a well-placed header after Matz Sels robbed him of a goal the first time around.

Like the 4-2 loss to Wolves, there is no question that the worst performance of the night was goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario's. Although the star center back duo of Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven was, once again, highly disappointing in a big Premier League fixture, the reality is that Vicario was the one cost the team the game.

Guglielmo Vicario cost Tottenham again

He flapped helplessly at the two goals that Nottingham Forest scored, and if it weren't for the offsides flagged, he would have been hooked with a goalkeeper error for a first goal from Forest star striker Chris Wood.

Vicario continues to display suspect handling and even worse decision-making when trying to claim dangerous crosses into the corridor of uncertainty. He was an excellent goalkeeper for Empoli, but I am starting to worry that Vicario's lack of technical ability in goal and his sloppiness put a ceiling on him that won't enable him to be reliable enough to start every game for a side with Champions League ambitions.

The best player on the pitch is a more difficult discussion, because young winger Mathys Tel had another standout performance, particularly in the first half. He created a handful of good chances for his teammates, and whenever the Bayern Munich loanee is on the ball, you can tell he is a cut above the rest.

Pedro Porro was Spurs workhorse vs. Forest

But for me, the nod has to go to right back Pedro Porro, as he was the most decisive player on Tottenham at the end of the game when Spurs started to threaten a comeback. He had a jaw-dropping seven key passes with a team-high four combined dribbles completed and fouls drawn, providing an on-stop outlet with legitimate end product on that right side.

It was Porro who assisted Richarlison with a brilliant deep cross, and he has some of the best technical skills of any right back in Europe. Porro defended decently well, too, and whlie his key passes are buoyed by volume and a cross-heavy approach, he still had to put in the work to make those plays happen.

Tottenham still have everything to play for in the Europa League with the semifinals on the horizon against underdogs Bodo Glimt, as Spurs were able to dispatch tough Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt on Thursday at the Deutsche Bank Park.

But the Premier League is a different story, as Tottenham aren't at any risk of relegation but are so far away from European qualification in 16th that they are playing for nothing more than pride and the future. At this point for Tottenham, the latter is more important, and fans are looking to the last games of the 2024/25 Premier League season as a key trial for up-and-coming players who want to become important to the Spurs cause.

One such player is recent center back signing Kevin Danso, who is ready to push Radu Dragusin as the top backup behind Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven - one of the best center back duos in not just England but in European football as a whole.

Kevin Danso was a great signing from Lens

Danso was a top-class central defender in Ligue 1, and he is ready to get his chance to show what he can do in North London as an excellent ball-playing center back. And it sounds like Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou is ready to oblige Danso and the fans by giving the Austrian international his chance to shine before the 2024/25 season ends.

In the build-up to the game against Nottingham Forest, Postecoglou said of Danso, via the Spurs Express, “I think it's important that we get him some game time because I think he will be important [moving forward].”

Danso joined Tottenham this past winter transfer window for an affordable 25 million euros after three-and-a-half solid seasons with RC Lens in France. Known for his reading of the game and technical ability, Danso is a good athlete with above-average technical ability in the tackle and borderline elite marking skills with how he reads strikers off the ball.

Danso is a cerebral defender

With his talent, the 26-year-old Danso could potentially push Van de Ven and Romero for starts, but he needs some momentum to get going. Danso has started just four games in the Premier League, one game in the League Cup, and one game in the Europa League for Tottenham to this point. The end of the season could be Danso's time to finally get some consistent games going, sparing the starters wear-and-tear that they don't need.

Tottenham fans were surprised when manager Ange Postecoglou revealed just a couple of days before the do-or-die tilt at the Deutsche Bank Park against Eintracht Frankfurt that star man Son Heung-min would be unable to play in the second leg of the Europa League quarterfinals with an injury.

Son didn't start in the preceding debacle over the weekend against Wolves, but that was seen more as an opportunity for young loan signing Mathys Tel, rather than any injury to Son. But Postecoglou later added that Son had been dealing with an injury for more time than that, stating Tottenham finally decided to rest him because he wasn't getting better.

Cynically, I and others wondered, amidst a backdrop of transfer rumors and a very disappointing campaign, if this was a concocted story from Postecoglou and if Tottenham were attempting to phase the Premier League legend out of the starting lineup in preparation for a summer sale to Saudi Arabia.

Son Heung-min should have been rested sooner

While that may still be the case on some level, it does seem like Son's injury is real. Before Monday's tough matchup against surprise package Nottingham Forest, manager Ange Postecoglou gave more information about Son's injury, via Football.London's Alasdair Gold:

"Not really sure, something he's been dealing with for a while and we got to a point where it wasn't improving and it was deteriorating. So it's a good time to give him a bit of a rest."

That sounds well and all, but it raises the question as to why Son wasn't held out sooner. If he's been dealing with discomfort and a knock for "a while", then why was he playing regularly and allowed to struggle for that timeframe before the manager and club finally stepped in? I get that athletes, especially high-performing ones, always want to play and are willing to play through pain, but we could all see that Son wasn't playing anywhere near his usual standard lately.

Mathys Tel could have gotten more chances

If Son was playing through an injury that long, it's a serious problem and shows a lack of foresight or leadership by Tottenham and Postecoglou to have allowed that situation to fester. It took minutes away from a young player like Mathys Tel who needs that chance to show himself, and a healthy Tel is much better than an injured Son.

And certainly, the decision did Son no favors either, as it made him look bad at a critical point in the season in which his future at Tottenham is on the line due to sour performances. Son didn't need that bad film due to an injury shrouding his perception, and fan perception does end up mattering when transfer rumors are whispered. This is another case of poor decision-making by Postecoglou.