Cristian Romero opens up on his future at Tottenham Hotspur amid Atletico Madrid interest
Tottenham Hotspur defender Cristian Romero continues to be heavily linked with a move away to Atletico Madrid.
The Argentinean international’s future has been rife for a while now and he fuelled further speculation by admitting his desire to play in La Liga in future. This has given mileage to Atletico Madrid to push for a move for the centre-back, with their manager Diego Simeone calling him a “great player”.
So far, the La Liga side have not been able to convince Spurs to sell their prized asset. Recent reports suggest that the Lilywhites value Cristian Romero over £60 million and will not get bullied into accepting a cut-price fee for him. The 27-year-old, who was the Man of the Match in the Europa League final against Manchester United in May, still has two years left on his deal at White Hart Lane. So, Spurs have every right to stay firm in their valuation of the player.
Earlier this week, it was reported that Daniel Levy was planning to make Romero the highest earner in the Tottenham squad to stop him from leaving the club and joining Atletico Madrid this summer.
The central defender has now opened up on speculation surrounding his future. Speaking to Argentinean journalist Fernando Czyz, Romero has explained that it is not about the money, and he is seeking a new professional challenge. The Cordoba-born star also added that he has “great love” for the club, but he wants to move on.
“It’s not a matter of money but of professional challenges. I love Tottenham and it will always be in my heart,” Romero said as reported by Czyz on his X account.
The South American journalist claims that Atletico will now look to secure Romero’s services for a fee of around €55 million. They are likely to offer bonuses of around €10-15 million too. The Argentinean international certainly appears to have made up his mind of leaving the North London club for Atletico.
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Spurs want over £60 million for their best defender and are unlikely to budge. The ex-Atalanta man still has two years left in his contract, and Spurs want to keep him to help Frank rebuilding the defence around him. However, if Romero pushes for a move, Levy should not make it difficult for him to leave as keeping an unhappy player in the squad would not bode well for the new manager.
As far as his potential replacements are concerned, Tottenham have shown an interest in signing RB Leipzig star Castello Lukeba.