Tottenham are demanding €70m for the sale of a starting centre-back and Atletico Madrid are ‘willing to meet’ that asking price, with a report also claiming ‘significant progress’ on the move could be made this week.
After winning the Europa League and securing the all-important Champions League football, a big summer was anticipated at Tottenham. However, perhaps due to the club changing managers, Spurs have stumbled out of the gates so far.
Just two players (Kevin Danso, Mathys Tel) have been signed and both came via activating options/obligations to buy in loan agreements.
Tottenham do have a deal in place to make Kota Takai their third addition, though the 20-year-old defender who is costing just £5m will not be expected to make an instant impact next season.
And according to the latest from Spanish outlet AS, the next Spurs deal might actually be a monumental exit.
Cristian Romero continues to be linked with both Madrid sides are per AS, it’s Atletico where his future lays.
They claim Diego Simeone has personally requested the signing of his fellow Argentine and Atletico Madrid are more than willing to oblige.
Despite already completing deals for Matteo Ruggeri and Alex Baena and lining up Johnny Cardoso, it’s stated Romero has been Atleti’s No 1 summer transfer target all along.
The club are aware a deal of that magnitude won’t be made quickly and set about completing different deals first. But while the other moves were being finalised, Atleti have reportedly been speaking with both Romero and Spurs.
Romero only has two years remaining on his contract and there is no sign of an extension. As such, and if Spurs are to extract maximum value, the time to cash in is now.
Accordingly, Spurs have slapped a hefty €70m / £60.5m asking price on the defender and AS state Atleti are ‘willing’ to meet those demands, though there is a catch.
Atleti want their €70m bid to comprise of €55m plus €15m in add-ons. Of course, Spurs would prefer to receive more if not all of the fee up front and in full.
Nevertheless, AS concluded ‘significant progress’ on Romero’s proposed transfer to Atleti ‘could be made this week.’
At €70m, Romero would slot in as Tottenham’s third most lucrative sale of all time, behind only Harry Kane (Bayern Munich) and Gareth Bale (Real Madrid). Fourth on that list is Kyle Walker (Manchester City).
Tottenham in unwinnable Romero situation
Touching on Romero’s situation earlier this week, The Athletic’s Dan Kilpatrick shared his assessment of the tricky spot Spurs find themselves in.
“For Romero I think it would be a bad message for Spurs to sell their World Cup-winning captain at this point,” said the Spurs-focussed journalist.
“They’re looking to kick on and build on the Europa League success but he’s got two years on his contract and there’s no really good outcome for Spurs in this one.
“Either they sell him now and bank big money or they run the risk of him running it down and then being over a barrel in a year or 18 months’ time.
“So I think they have to consider any really good offers for Romero this summer. But the way he played in the Europa League I think he showed he’s a winner, he’s a leader.
“Spurs haven’t had many of them over the years, they don’t have many of them in the squad now, so they won’t want to lose the one they’ve got.”