Julian Alvarez has urged Cristian Romero to join Atletico Madrid ahead of the summer transfer window. The 27-year-old defender faces an uncertain future at Tottenham Hotspur, having recently expressed his desire to play in the Spanish top flight.
Romero, who has two years left on his contract in north London, has featured 18 times in the Premier League this season, keeping just two clean sheets. The Argentina international missed a large chunk of the campaign due to injury, suffering a hamstring problem shortly after coming back from spell on the sidelines.
Despite his best efforts, Tottenham have spent much of the campaign in the bottom half of the table. Ange Postecoglou's side certainly suffered in Romero's absence, going on a seven-game winless streak during the festive period.
While Spurs have been rather disappointing on the domestic stage, the Argentinean has led them to the semi-finals of the UEFA Europa League. With European football far from guaranteed, Romero has been linked with an exit.
In an interview with Spanish outlet Diario AS, Alvarez endorsed the signing of the Tottenham defender. As quoted by Fabrizio Romano and World Soccer Talk, the Atletico striker said: "Hopefully Cuti Romero comes [to the Riyadh Air Metropolitano Stadium].
"He would help us a lot. Atlético Madrid is a family. It’s more similar to Argentina than the Premier League," added Alvarez. Last month, Romero revealed that he 'would love to play in the Spanish top flight.
"La Liga is left for me to play in, I would love to, to tell you the truth," the Spurs defender told Argentine broadcaster TyC Sports. "I would love to play there because it’s the league I’m missing."
Romero added: "I try to above all live the day to day. There are almost two months until the championship ends and in my head it’s always (about) performing to the maximum, trying to finish in the best way possible.
"We’re in the semi-final of the Europa League. It’s an important step for the club after so many years where they hadn’t reached those stages. To say I’m happy (with that)?
"No, because in the end I want to win it, but it depends on a lot of things. After that, once the championship finishes, we’ll see. The truth is I haven’t spoken to my representative yet but I’m open to anything.
"In my head, I always (think about) growing, also (about) going to new places to keep growing but I don’t want to talk about that yet because there’s a few months left of the championship."
There's no smoke without fire. According to The Athletic, Atletico are interested in signing Romero, with Diego Simeone eager to bolster his backline this summer.
The report claims that the Spanish giants have already submitted an enquiry about the Tottenham defender, who has been given a £60m price tag. It's said that the Lilywhites' transfer strategy will largely depend on the fate of Postecoglou, who faces an uncertain future himself.