Transfer expert Graeme Bailey reveals what Daniel Levy is willing to do to convince Cristian Romero to stay and asserts that the Tottenham chairman is demanding a higher fee for the centre-back than what some sources have reported over recent weeks.
With pre-season fast approaching, the Tottenham vice-captain’s future is no closer to being sorted out as Atletico Madrid continue to push to land Romero.
It has been claimed by the likes of Alasdair Gold that Romero will only be sold for a fee worthy of one of the best centre-backs in the world.
According to some sources, including The Telegraph, Tottenham are refusing to budge on their £60m asking price on Romero, even though the centre-back has just two years left on his deal.
However, it has now been claimed that Levy has started negotiations with an even bigger price tag for the 27-year-old.
Daniel Levy’s stance on Cristian Romero at Tottenham revealed
Graeme Bailey has now revealed that the Tottenham supremo is prepared to make the centre-back the highest-paid player at the club if he decides to stay.
The journalist revealed that Levy is asking for £70m for the Argentine defender but suggested that he might settle for around £60m, which Atletico Madrid are not far away from reaching.
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Bailey told TBR Football: “Daniel Levy, as we said this week, is accepting that Romero might leave, but he won’t allow him to leave for cheap.
“He’s telling Atletico he’s prepared to make Romero the highest-paid player at the football club. That’s evidence of how highly he rates him.
“So that’s where Levy is pushing back. I think he’s looking for £70m. He’s not going to get that. Will he get £60m? I think that might be the key figure. Atletico are about £55m.”
Why Spurs may be in a bad spot if they lose Romero
This update from Bailey suggests that the two clubs are fairly close to reaching an agreement on the former Juventus man.
This ties in with reports from Spain from earlier this week, which claimed that Tottenham and Atletico are getting closer in their valuations of Romero.
It seems like the two parties are likely to reach an agreement, but the worry for Spurs is that they do not appear to have a replacement lined up.