Following Son Heung-min’s departure to LAFC, Tottenham Hotspur have announced Cristian Romero as their new captain.
Son is already impressing in the MLS, and it did feel like the right time for the Tottenham legend to move on.
Of course, Spurs are about to start a new era under Thomas Frank, and there will now be an excellent chance for new leaders to step forward.
Despite tons of speculation over Cristian Romero’s Tottenham future, the Argentina international has now been named as the club’s new captain.
And after Frank chose to leave Yves Bissouma out of Spurs’ Super Cup squad, the Tottenham manager must have zero doubts about Romero’s professionalism and commitment to the cause.
Harry Redknapp called Cristian Romero ‘unreliable’ at Tottenham
That being said, one or two fans might be surprised by Romero being handed the captain’s armband in wake of Son leaving.
Since his arrival from Atalanta in 2022, Romero has never shied away from controversial moments on the pitch – he’s a player who truly wears his heart on his sleeve.
Moreover, in 124 games for Tottenham, Romero has already been sent off four times.
And perhaps with that in mind, former Spurs boss Harry Redknapp described Romero as ‘crazy’ when speaking earlier this year.
In May on ‘We Are Tottenham TV’, Redknapp was asked to choose a Spurs eleven made up of current players and ones who played during his time as manager.
When choosing between Romero and Michael Dawson at centre-back, Redknapp said: “Romero is a World Cup winner. He’s a bit crazy, isn’t he? Unreliable, gets sent off, kicks people.”
And although Romero somewhat improved in that respect towards the end of last season, those are not words you’d want associated with the captain of your team.
Cristian Romero gets reward for ignoring Atletico Madrid interest
In fairness to Romero, he is still a logical choice when you look past his ill-discipline at times.
The 27-year-old is clearly a leader and winner, as he proved during his World Cup triumph with Argentina.
That explains why Atletico Madrid wanted to sign Romero this summer, and perhaps Frank’s captaincy call is partially a reward for the defender deciding to stay.
And in actual fact, being appointed captain might lead to Romero becoming a calmer and more reliable presence on the pitch, which may even aid his consistency as a centre-back too.
Clearly Romero has a ton of talent, but he’s often let Spurs down over the years in crucial moments – a trait Frank will be keen to wipe out.
Redknapp is clearly a fan of Romero’s talent, he wouldn’t be so torn between him and Dawson for his combined eleven otherwise.
But he was right to raise concerns about the defender’s recklessness at the time, and that is something Spurs will have had to consider when handing him the captaincy.