Tottenham Hotspur are understood to have told Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven that both players cannot leave this summer, and with Manchester United’s interest in the latter drawing a response, TEAMtalk understands there is still a scenario where the pair could both move on.
Spurs go into this weekend desperately needing a morale-boosting win after a seriously underwhelming season. Sat in 16th place and just four points clear of a resurgent West Ham in the relegation zone, interim boss Igor Tudor will hope to inspire Tottenham to a much-needed three-point haul when they make the short trip across the capital to face Fulham at Craven Cottage.
Tottenham’s struggles this season have not been helped by a crippling injury list that has seen the club robbed of several top talents. Despite that, two pillars of consistency, centre-halves Romero and Van de Ven, have failed to alleviate a situation that has seen the club flirt perilously close to a first relegation in 49 years.
Should that happen, then the pair will undoubtedly depart the north London side.
Even if they do stay up, though, Spurs will seemingly face a battle to keep the pair on their books, with a range of clubs queuing up to sign the pair.
Earlier this week, TEAMtalk’s transfer correspondent, Fraser Fletcher, exclusively reported that Manchester United were ready to battle Liverpool and Real Madrid for a potential deal for the Dutch defender, who would surely command a fee of around £100m (€114m, $135m) were he to leave.
Now assessing those links, Romano was unable to rule out such a possibility, though he did make it clear that Spurs would not let both players leave this summer if still a Premier League side.
“I do not see Tottenham selling both of them (Romero and van de Ven),” Romano said on his YouTube channel. “This would not be in Tottenham style, but there is obviously a lot of attention on the players, because they are among the best centre-backs in the world. And so several clubs are following these situations.
“On van de Ven and Manchester United, these rumours around in the last 24 to 48 hours, coming from England, I received many questions, but guys, I’m not aware about anything really serious or concrete at this stage.”
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Van de Ven speculation is normal, Romano insists
While Spurs’ struggles are clear for all to see, Van de Ven has continued to set a high personal bar and his excellent performances, which have seen the Dutchman score an impressive seven goals this season from defence, have continued to attract the game’s biggest clubs.
Discussing interest in the player, together with our recent exclusive saying Harry Maguire was closing on an agreement on a new deal, Romano added: “Appreciating Micky van de Ven is absolutely normal because he is one of the best defenders around, so it’s absolutely normal to have these kinds of stories on many clubs.
“But at the moment, I think, as I keep telling you, and I told you here on the channel for some time, the focus for Man United and the big spending is going to be on midfielders. Man Utd want to invest in midfielders.
“Then Man Utd to sign a defender? I think it’s a possibility in the summer. Let’s see what happens with [Harry] Maguire if he’s going to stay, if he’s going to leave. But at the moment, for Micky van de Ven and United, there is nothing really serious or concrete.”
Tottenham takeover bid hits hurdle; Man Utd walk away from English gem
Meanwhile, Van de Ven has named himself among five Spurs players who need to dig in and help lead the club away from the drop zone.
In other Tottenham news, sources can exclusively reveal that Amanda Staveley and her husband, Mehrdad Ghodoussi’s hopes of pushing through a £3bn takeover of the club from the Lewis family have encountered a pretty sizeable hurdle.
Up at Old Trafford, Romano has also reported that a £26m Manchester United transfer is nearing the endgame after ‘very advanced talks’ over a summer move.
Elsewhere, the Red Devils have been backed by a second source to complete a deal for a young centre-back who has reportedly clocked an even faster speed than Van de Ven this season.
And finally, United are reported to have walked away from a £50m deal to sign a young Premier League winger despite holding talks with his entourage.