Tottenham legend Chris Waddle has hit out at the body language of a top Spurs star and claims it’s obvious that he is looking for a way out of the club.
Ange Postecoglou has been missing a number of his key players throughout the season, with the back four hit particularly hard by the club’s current injury curse.
As well as No.1 keeper Guglielmo Vicario, first-choice centre-back pairing Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven have been missing for a number of weeks and Waddle is convinced that Argentine Romero now has his eyes firmly locked elsewhere.
When fully fit, the World Cup winner remains one of the top defensive talents in the Premier League and is one of the few actual leaders in a young Tottenham changing room.
The fact that he is back in training is a massive boost for Spurs and Postecoglou, but it remains to be just how much longer the 26-year-old actually remains in north London.
It’s been indicated over recent months that Tottenham have reached out to Romero’s camp about penning a lucrative new deal, but the defender is hesitant to sign up while there is no guarantee of Champions League football next season. In fact, Spurs’ only hope of getting in the competition now rests with them winning the Europa League.
It’s no secret that Real Madrid are big fans of Romero and have been for some time, and with the player out of contract in 18 months’ time their best chance of recouping a significant fee for his services will come this summer.
And Waddle believes that the Argentina international’s body language suggests that he does not want to extend his stay at the club.
The former Spurs and England winger told aceodds: “Romero is a good, old-fashioned centre-half who’s not afraid to leave his foot in. He’ll hit you if he has to hit you. He’s not afraid of a yellow card or a red.
“His body language after last season suggests he doesn’t really want to be at the club anymore.
“I think he believes he should be at Real Madrid or Barcelona. If he wants to go, it’s better for Tottenham to cash in and buy someone who wants to play for the club.”
Romero, Van de Ven closing in on return
Postecoglou spoke on Friday as to why Romero was able to be involved in training Wednesday morning but was still not ready to return against Leicester.
“We got him back training. Him and Micky [van de Ven] are the next cabs off the rank in terms of the long-term ones. They’ve still got a bit to do in terms of getting some training into them with the team,” said Postecoglou.
“Obviously we haven’t been training a lot and because the other day was sort of low tempo session, it was just good to get him involved, not just for him but the players involved because they need a bit of help and encouragement and Cuti training with them gives them a big lift.
“Micky’s not too far away. These players will come back, knock on wood they’re not deceased, they’re just injured, so they will be all back so it’s not all doom and gloom.
“It’s good to see for the players as he’s joined in training the last couple of days but he’s still got a bit of work to do.”