‘Atletico Madrid to make increased offer for Cristian Romero’ – Exclusive
Cristian Romero’s potential departure has been one of the major talking points of the summer at Tottenham.
The Argentine’s future in North London has been up in the air over the last few weeks, and he could be potentially heading for the exit despite tasting UEFA Europa League glory with the Lilywhites less than two months ago.
Spurs have been fending off interest in Romero from Atletico Madrid, and Daniel Levy is already understood to have turned down the offer of a £60.2million package from the Spanish giants.
The uncertainty surrounding the 27-year-old’s future has already rumbled on for several weeks, and it doesn’t seem likely to come to an end any time soon.
‘Atletico to come back with a bigger offer for Romero’
Thomas Frank is keen to work with Romero next season, and his stance on the defender’s future lines up with that of Levy.
Tottenham don’t want to lose a player who has become a hugely important cog in their side, despite him enduring an uncharacteristically poor season last time out.
The Lilywhites have seemingly now received a boost in their bid to keep hold of the centre back, with Atletico deciding to halt their pursuit, according to The Athletic (11 July).
However, ex-Spurs scout Bryan King – speaking exclusively to Tottenham News – believes that Diego Simeone’s side will return with an improved offer for Romero, despite the recent reports.
“I don’t believe those reports,” King said.
“This is a typical ploy. You cause all this unrest, showing that this is a player you want to sign, and suddenly you don’t want to increase your offer? I don’t believe that at all.
“They would have known if they had the money to spend. I believe they will come back with an increased offer.”
Tottenham need to keep Romero
Levy has lofty demands for Romero, but Tottenham must be prepared to do everything in their power to keep hold of him as they enter the Frank era.
The Argentina international has established himself as one of the N17 outfit’s best defenders, and he will surely be central to the new boss’ plans, despite the issues he experienced at times last year.
Romero was part of a poor rearguard unit under Ange Postecoglou, but Frank will know that he possesses the kind of natural defensive instincts that could see him play a crucial role at the heart of a watertight backline in the future.
If he were to depart, Spurs would at least have plenty of money to go and source a replacement.
However, with just over a month to go until the new Premier League season gets underway, they will surely be desperate to ensure they avoid that scenario coming to fruition.
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