Tottenham Hotspur are continuing their pursuit of Atalanta defender Cristian Romero as new manager Nuno Espirito Santo looks to bolster his defence.

Following the sale of Toby Alderweirled to Qatari side Al-Duhail, Spurs are in the market for a new centre-back and have shortlisted the Argentine as a prime target to replace the Belgian.

Tottenham remain in talks over the signing of Romero
Getty

Romero had been linked with several clubs in the past, including Spurs’ Premier League rivals Manchester United, however that is no longer the case following their successful move for Raphael Varane.

That has now paved the way for Spurs to come in and have a clear run at bringing in the Copa America winner.

But who is the young defender set to join the Premier League? talkSPORT.com takes a look at who he is and why the Lilywhites want him…

Argentina international could be set for a move to Tottenham this summer
Getty

At just 23 years old, Romero he has been a highly sought after player this summer on the back of a strong campaign.

The centre-back helped Atalanta – a club that was relegated to Serie B ten years ago – finish third in Serie A and secure qualification for the Champions League for the third successive season.

He made 29 league appearances and his statistics were very impressive, as he was named the Serie A defender of the season.

Cristian Romero Serie A stats 2020/21

Appearances: 29
Tackles per match: 2
Interceptions per match: 3.1
Fouls per match: 2.3
Clearances per match: 2.2
Blocks per match: 0.4
WhoScored.com rating: 7.14

With that rating, he was placed in the top 100 players in Europe’s top five leagues last season, something that is quite remarkable given he has only played at Atalanta for one season.

Romero joined the Italian side last summer on loan from Juventus, with the option to buy. Atalanta are now set to trigger a deal to sign the centre-back for around £13.6million [€16m], before immediately cashing in and selling him to Spurs for a reported fee of around £42.6m [€50m].

That’s a tidy profit for a player whose breakout Serie A season led to Romero being called up as part of Argentina’s squad for the Copa America.

He went on to play three times, keeping as many clean sheets as part of a beck line that helped Lionel Messi win his first ever international trophy, beating arch rivals Brazil 1-0 in the final.

Centre-back Romero won the Copa America with Argentina this summer and kept a clean sheet against Brazil in the final
AFP

Just as the player’s profile could not get any more impressive, he broke a record that was previously set by one of Argentina’s greatest players – Diego Maradona.

In just his second match for his country, Romero scored his first goal.

What is so incredible about this feat is the time it took to achieve it, just 130 seconds – breaking Maradona’s record for the fastest-scored goal in Argentina history, which stood since 1985, by a full 38 seconds.

Whilst not a meaningful statistic to display the type of player he is, it’s an incredible accomplishment nonetheless.

Dream Team 2021/22 – SIGN UP NOW

PLAY DREAM TEAM FOR THE 2021/22 SEASON!

  • £100,000 in prize money up for grabs
  • £50million budget to build your best XI
  • Play in Mini Leagues against your mates, colleagues, etc
  • Click here to play for FREE
  • Dream Team app available through Apple Store and Google Play Store

Based on everything Romero has achieved so far, it really is a no-brainer why Spurs want him so desperately.

The club’s defensive struggles were clear to see last season with Jose Mourinho and interim manager Ryan Mason constantly changing the back line.

Different partnerships and formations brought inconsistency which ultimately cost Mourinho his job and led to a very poor season for the club, with Spurs finishing seventh in the Premier League.

With former team-mate goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini signing for Tottenham recently, it makes a great deal of sense to secure the defender in an attempt to rectify the club’s frailties at the back from the last 12 months.

By

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *