Atletico Madrid are continuing to work hard to secure a deal for Cristian Romero, with the La Liga club said to have an ace up their sleeve to push through a transfer from Tottenham this summer.
The Tottenham vice-captain’s future has dominated the headlines over the last couple of months, with some sources claiming that Atletico are already preparing an offer for Romero.
In fact, it has even been alleged by some Spanish outlets that Atletico have already agreed personal terms with Romero ahead of the transfer window’s opening.
However, Last week, The Sun asserted that Real Madrid are also eyeing a move for Romero, thus raising the possibility of a bidding war between the cross-city rivals for the centre-back.
Diego Simeone is spearheading Atletico’s pursuit of Cristian Romero
A fresh report from Mundo Deportivo has now said that the Spurs man has been identified as a ‘priority target’ by the Colchoneros ahead of the summer.
It is explained that Atletico have one ace up their sleeve in the race for Romero: Diego Simeone, who is using all of his contacts and his powers of persuasion to bring his compatriot to the Metropolitano Stadium.
The report says that Simeone has ‘rolled up his sleeves’ and is hard at work trying to make the deal happen, thus handing the club ‘an advantage’ over other suitors in the race for the 26-year-old.
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The Atletico boss did the same to get a deal for Julian Alvarez over the line last summer, and is now trying to repeat the trick with the Tottenham Hotspur man.
As a result, Romero’s ‘phone is burning’ at this moment in time as Simeone puts his contacts to work
Talks with Tottenham for Romero are not expected to be easy
Just as other outlets have reported over recent weeks, Mundo Deportivo acknowledge that the deal will be anything but straightforward to complete.
Romero just won the Europa League Player of the Tournament award as Spurs lifted their first major trophy in 17 years, and the last thing the Lilywhites will want is to lose momentum by selling a key star.
It is said that Tottenham want €60m (£50.7m) for Romero, and Atletico will have to send a huge offer to convince the Premier League side.
Even though the two clubs have a good relationship, it is asserted that negotiating with Spurs for the World Cup winner will not be easy.
However, the report suggests that the La Liga side are confident that Romero’s desire to move to the Spanish capital would be a key factor in helping them clinch the deal.