Sport Witness

Over the past few weeks, Tottenham Hotspur star Cristian Romero has been repeatedly linked to Atlético Madrid.

The Argentina international played a key role in helping Spurs win the Europa League this season. After the success in the final, Romero said he loves Tottenham “very much” when asked about his future.

That didn’t stop the Atlético links, and earlier this week, the defender admitted he would like to play in La Liga.

Two days ago, we covered claims from Spain which stated Atlético CEO Miguel Ángel Gil is set to contact Spurs chairman Daniel Levy for Romero. Spanish journalist Rubén Uría has told El Desmarque that Ange Postecoglou’s situation can influence the Argentine’s future.

In short, the centre-back is likely to stay at the north London club if they were to stick with their current manager.

“The key lies in who will be the Tottenham manager. If Postecoglou stays, I think Cuti won’t leave. Now, if there’s a change of coach, Cuti will do everything possible to leave,” he said.

“He wants to live in Madrid, not London. He wants to play for Atleti and has already spoken with Cholo Simeone several times. A meeting is planned between Miguel Ángel Gil Marín and Levy to find out if they can sit down and negotiate or if the player will stay in London.”

Levy’s decision on whether to retain Postecoglou and the upcoming meeting with Miguel Ángel Gil will be key for the World Cup winner’s future at Tottenham.

If Diego Simeone’s side fail to sign the Tottenham player, Uría claims they will shift their focus on Bayer Leverkusen’s Piero Hincapié.

Alejo Véliz hasn’t impressed since leaving Rosario Central for Tottenham Hotspur in 2023.

Last month, the striker told Olé he would “absolutely” like to return to his former club and win the title with them.

The Tottenham player could be presented an opportunity to return to Rosario Central in the summer window.

That’s at least what journalist Esteban Edul is reporting, and he took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to provide an update.

On Thursday, the Argentine club announced that their former player, Ángel Di María, has returned to the club.

Edul reports that after signing the former Real Madrid man, Rosario Central “will begin work” to sign the 21-year-old. He claims Véliz is the “No.9 they dream of”.

That’s all he has to say about the Argentina U21 international, without providing Spurs’ stance on the potential operation. Véliz, for his part, has already left the door open if we take his recent comments into account.

Tottenham have sent the frontman on loan to Sevilla and Espanyol in last 18 months, but neither spell worked out. The Europa League winners have to make a decision on his future once he returns to the club this summer.

On Friday, Marca reported Tottenham Hotspur star Cristian Romero has informed Daniel Levy of his desire to join Atlético Madrid in the summer window. They also said the two parties will have a new meeting and that the La Liga club have to dig deep to sign him.

On Wednesday, journalist Rubén Uría said Atlético’s hopes of signing the 27-year-old are still alive. He also stated Levy will hold a meeting over his future in the coming days.

The latest claims from the UK have stated Tottenham are requesting €70m for Romero. AS relay that in their Thursday edition, and then give their own take on this case.

Los Rojiblancos are aware the centre-back wants to join them, but Spurs are ‘not making his exit easy’. That’s because there’s no need for them to sell and Ange Postecoglou has requested they retain the player.

Tottenham have qualified for the Champions League, and this is another argument to keep the Argentina international.

The Madrid club are well aware the operation could drag on, and the report makes it clear they have no plans to pay €70m for him.

Atlético CEO Miguel Ángel Gilis is now expected to get involved and contact Tottenham, likely Levy. His club ‘want to know firsthand how willing’ Spurs are to sell Romero.

Tottenham’s Champions League qualification, Postecoglou requesting to retain him and Levy’s history as a tough negotiator all point to Romero’s signing for Atlético being a ‘soap opera’.

Atletico Madrid’s hopes of signing Cristian Romero from Tottenham are not dead yet, with Daniel Levy set to hold a meeting in the coming days over the transfer.

That’s according to journalist Rubén Uría, via Esto Es Atleti, who has been revealing all on the possible deal on his Twitch channel.

They report that Atletico’s interest in the Tottenham defender is real and that ‘decisive days’ are approaching to determine whether the move will happen.

Atletico have already made their moves for the defender, with their CEO Gil Marín set to meet Daniel Levy in the coming days to discuss whether there is room for a negotiation. The Spanish side want to hear Tottenham’s position and then hear from the defender himself.

Romero has already spoken to Diego Simeone and the Argentine boss has made it clear that he wants him in his team next season. Romero has reportedly expressed his intention to leave London. He believes a change of scenery would be positive for his career and family life.

The main obstacle to a transfer is Tottenham. Ange Postecoglou has been clear that he doesn’t want the Argentine to leave.

“For now, the story is still alive,” Uría is reported as saying.

“Cuti wants to leave, and he’s been clear, there will be an important meeting that will determine the course of the transfer.”

Tottenham Hotspur are one of the clubs in the picture to sign Bayern Munich’s Leroy Sané in the summer window, according to Bild.

The forward has just over a month left on his contract and it’s unclear whether he’ll still be with the German champions.

He’s currently on vacation with his family in London and could have a future in the city if Tottenham were to secure his services.

Sané’s agent Pini Zahavi has held talks with Arsenal and Chelsea, but Spurs are ahead of their London rivals. The report states Tottenham are currently the ‘hottest’ club in England for the former Manchester City.

They secured a berth in the Champions League after winning the Eruopa League and this makes them an attractive option for the 29-year-old. A move to the Premier League seem to be attractive for both him and his family.

Bayern Munich want the attacker’s future sorted out soon, before the Club World Cup in June. They have already offered him a new contract worth €10m per year plus €5.5m in potential bonuses.

The Bundesliga winners won’t be improving their offer. Despite this, Bild state Zahavi is expected to travel to Munich this week and there should be more clarity on Sané’s future after this meeting.

Multiple Premier League clubs have been dragged into the picture as Sane has been in renewal talks and perhaps the trip to London is yet another tactic from his camp to try and get more money from Bayern.

Earlier this year, Djurgårdens IF CEO Henrik Berggren said they are expecting more money from Lucas Bergvall’s sale to Tottenham Hotspur.

In February 2024, Spurs agreed a deal with the Swedish side for the midfielder to arrive at the north London club later that year.

Since moving to Tottenham, the 19-year-old has played 2,334 minutes from 43 games in all competitions, managing a goal and four assists in the process.

DIF Podden reported all bonuses related to the Sweden international’s sale to the Premier League club have been activated. Fotbollskanalen got in touch with Djurgårdens IF sporting director Bosse Andersson, and he confirmed DIF Podden’s report.

The youngster was part of Tottenham’s Europa League winning squad but was forced to miss the final against Manchester United. Andersson admits he expected it would take years for the bonuses part of the agreement to kick in.

“I can confirm that all the bonus parts that are included have clicked in,” he said.

“Lucas has had such progress both in the Premier League and in Europe and has been involved in so many matches. We can say that what we thought it would take several years has happened very quickly.”

The official insists his sale to Tottenham is expected to be the club’s biggest operation for a “very long time”.

When asked whether it’s the biggest sale in Swedish football history, Andersson explained: “I don’t know, but it wouldn’t surprise me. If I had to go by my own admission, we’re number one there.”

The sporting director refused to provide figures related to the agreement with Tottenham. Expressen earlier reported that the fee could reach over SEK 220m [€20m] with bonuses included.

In the past few days, Tottenham have emerged as suitors for Pisa defender Francesco Coppola.

Alfredo Pedulla reported last week that Spurs are one of the candidates to land the youngster, who impressed during a loan stint at Serie C side Vis Pesaro in the 2024/25 season.

Tottenham have upped their interest the youngster and La Nazione have provided an update on their chase.

The outlet claims Spurs’ approach for Coppola has been rejected, with the Pisa management having been present in Bilbao to watch the Europa League final.

The Italian side are surprisingly quite confident about keeping the youngster for their Serie A campaign next season. The belief is that Coppola is an ‘unsellable’ entity right now.

There is no indication about how much Pisa want either. It can be presumed that Tottenham either have to shell out a major amount for the 20-year-old or they would have to wait to land him later.

The Tuscan side are clear that they want Coppola to showcase his abilities in the top flight next season, with the defender yet to have made a first team appearance for them in his entire career.

Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and AFC Bournemouth are all chasing Botafogo’s Cuiabano for the summer window.

That’s according to Trivela, who state Manchester United face competition from Tottenham and Bournemouth to sign the 22-year-old, after earlier claims of a Brighton attempt.

He’s been one of the standout players for Botafogo in recent months and is attracting interest from several European clubs.

Manchester United, Tottenham and the Cherries probed about the left-back by contacting the Brazilian club and his camp. In addition to the Premier League trio, clubs from Turkey and France have also made contact to ask about his situation.

The Red Devils, Spurs and Andoni Iraola’s side have made ‘more advanced enquires’ by asking about his salary and family issues, to understand how well he can adapt in England.

The report states the Brazilian’s agent recently travelled to Europe, including a trip to England. It’s not clear if talks were held with the three clubs.

Botafogo manager Renato Paiva has used Cuiabano in an advanced role instead of ar left-back in recent weeks. His versatility is something that has also pleased the three English clubs.

Recent claims in the UK stated Botafogo have already rejected two bids from Brighton & Hove Albion. Trivela relay that and adds they need at least €10m to sell Cuiabano, and this would be affordable for Manchester United, Tottenham and Bournemouth.

Patrick Dorgu arrived in January and it’s unclear if Manchester United want another player on the left side. Destiny Udogie and Djed Spence are the left-backs at Tottenham, who may not look to strengthen the same position unless one of them were to leave.

Tottenham have seen an effort to sign Pisa defender Francesco Coppola turned away by the Italian side.

That’s according to La Nazione, who report that Pisa are now refusing to do a deal with Tottenham after initial discussions over the defender.

They say that Coppola will not go to Tottenham, with Pisa having now ‘closed the deal’ with the new Europa League champions.

The newspaper states that Tottenham had moved for Coppola in the last few hours as they plan for the summer and life in the Champions League next season.

However, negotiations between the two clubs did not last long, with Pisa reportedly refusing Tottenham’s advances. They are banking heavily on the player, who has enjoyed a great season with the Italian side this year.

Lens made an approach for the defender in January, offering €4m at the time. Pisa’s answer to that was no. They have now given Tottenham the same answer, although the value of their proposal has not been made clear.

It seems Pisa have no intention of selling either way, with negotiations ended quickly and Spurs told to aim their attentions elsewhere.

Any clubs interested in signing Destiny Udogie from Tottenham this summer will need at least €50m to tempt them into talks.

That’s according to his agent, Stefano Antonelli, who has commented on a possible exit from Tottenham to Tuttomercatoweb.

Udogie is currently celebrating with the rest of his teammates after the 1-0 win over Manchester United in the Europa League final this week.

That has perhaps changed any plans for the summer, with Champions League football now secured for Tottenham next season thanks to their success in the Europa League.

Udogie was one of the current Tottenham stars who had found himself being linked with a move away. Several clubs in Italy were believed to be interested in taking him back to his homeland this summer if they could.

That may be significantly more difficult to do now that Tottenham are back in the Champions League and have their first trophy in 17 years to boot.

The Tottenham man’s agent certainly isn’t giving any encouragement to the transfer rumours, insisting it would take €50m at least before Spurs would even consider transfer talks about the left-back.

“It’s the second year of an incredible experience at Tottenham, where he’s always played: talking about vertical growth is absolutely in line with reality,” he said.

“He’s a player who could play in all the top European clubs. With the conquest of the Champions League, next season will be completely different.

“The transfer market is always open in all directions. Now I challenge anyone to go and buy Udogie from Tottenham for a sum less than €50m. Which Italian team can do it lightly?

“In Italy many players have arrived from the Premier League who have done not well, but very well, look at Anguissa, Lukaku, Tomori, to name a few. McTominay is a player of another category. Players who perhaps had little space in England: how can you think of going to take a Tottenham regular? Something special has to happen for the club to let him go.

“Translated: either a large amount of money, or because he is not part of the technical plans. As of today, I think I can exclude the second hypothesis.”