I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but according to one source in Argentina, Tottenham Hotspur and Atletico Madrid have come to a “verbal agreement” for the transfer of Cristian Romero. The fee is reported between €55m-60m (£47m-51m). The article comes courtesy of Argentine journalist Fernando Czyz, whom I don’t know but who is apparently followed by Fabrizio Romano and Felipe Cardenas. Czyz calls it a “bombazo.”
Yeah, I’d say so. “Bombazo” indeed.
The report goes on to say that Tottenham’s asking price is €70m (£60m), and that Atletico already has Romero’s verbal agreement to join this summer. That said, it’s not a done deal and there’s a lot that could happen that could still tank this deal. Czyz suggests that Romero might put in a formal transfer request to speed things along.
I think we all saw this coming. There have been signs, going back to last season - small comments, minor micro-agressions, Cuti seemingly prioritizing international duty over Tottenham. And he reportedly was not happy with the sacking of Ange Postecoglou, with whom he had a good relationship.
Czyz suggests that if the Romero deal doesn’t go through for whatever reason, Atletico will turn to Piero Hincapie, whom honestly would make a pretty fantastic Cuti Romero replacement at Tottenham Hotspur — Johan Lange should maybe take a look at that guy. If Romero does leave, Kevin Danso would step into Cuti’s role alongside Micky van de Ven if they don’t make another defensive purchase. That’s probably okay. Danso isn’t Cuti Romero, but honestly nobody is, and Danso can capably fill that role if required. The bigger issue is if Micky continues to get injured — I have a lot less confidence in Danso if he’s lining up beside Radu Dragusin.
I would’ve wanted closer to £60m for Cuti (assuming, y’know, this happens) but you don’t always get what you want in football. All that said, despite the “bombazo” language this doesn’t feel like it’s anything close to done deal... though now it’s starting to feel like a fait accompli.