Tottenham have agreed a deal with Atalanta to sign highly-rated defender Cristian Romero.
Spurs increased their offer to £42.7m (€50m) plus bonuses, making a total package worth £47m (€55m) for the Argentina centre-back.
The Argentinian international and Copa America winner, 23, is Spurs’ primary target to strengthen the heart of new coach Nuno Espirito Santo’s defence for the start of the season in mid-August.
Romero, 23, will fly to London to complete his move, before agreeing personal terms on a five-year deal.
Club sporting director Fabio Paratici, who’s already making his mark in his new role, knows the player from his time at Juventus and sees him as a player who would suit the Premier League.
Cristian Romero is already being touted as one of the most prestigious young centre-backs on the continent, and rightly so. The 23-year-old enjoyed a superb campaign for Atalanta, being named the Serie A defender of the year last season.
In fact, he’s been an outstanding performer in the last three years after starting in Serie A with Genoa and getting loaned back there for a second season after Juventus bought him, which was a deal on Paratici’s watch.
The defender enjoyed a promising maiden Champions League campaign while on loan at Atalanta, also while helping them to a stunning third placed finish as a regular and commendable presence at the heart of Gian Piero Gasperini’s defence.
Spurs are in desperate need of a fresh input in their back-line, with the ageing Toby Alderweireld’s Spurs future uncertain, Eric Dier’s game declining, and Davinson Sanchez struggling to make a name for himself so far during his time in North London.
Cristian Romero provides the perfect solution to address the stark decline and underperformance in defence.
A tremendous breakthrough year, becoming a key figure for Argentina in their Copa America this summer, at the heart of their defence alongside veteran and former Manchester City defender Nicolás Otamendi.
Despite featuring in three of Argentina’s six games during the tournament, he played and dominated in the most important game of them all, in the final against fierce international rivals Brazil. The 23-year-old was fearless against Neymar and co. not giving any of them a sniff as Argentina performed one of their most impressive shut out against fellow South American giants.
Cristiano Romero was simply unstoppable, standing guard against the likes of Richarlison, Neymar and Lucas Paqueta, and showcasing why he is indeed one of Europe’s most impressive young centre-backs.
So what will Tottenham be getting?
First of all, Nuno Espirito Santo will be recruiting a defender who simply loves to defend. A no-nonsense type.
Cristian Romero holds an intriguing skillset. Elements of his game are true relics of a bygone era: he looks impressive as a sweeper, mopping up loose passes and breaking up attacks that threaten to get behind his defensive line.
He is no-nonsense, combative, aggressive tackles hard, picks up too many yellow cards (36 and three reds in three Serie A seasons) however, an element of his game which will be tested heavily in the Premier League.
However, with some quality coaching adding to maturity and high levels of exposure and experience, that part of his game will be more refined as he gets older.
As a sweeper, the 22-year-old is extremely alert to the play developing in front of him. In fact, he is so good at reading play that he made the third-most interceptions (81) of any player in Serie A last season, whilst also recording 5.51 tackles + interceptions per90 making him the best around performing such defensive actions.
He is happy to sit back, waiting to clean up loose balls or cover runs behind the defensive line, but he plays on the front foot too, stepping up to pressure attackers that take a loose touch, highlighted by the above per 90 tackles and interceptions figure.
The Argentinian centre-back also averaged 6.11 successful pressures per 90, meaning he isn’t afraid to step out of his defensive line to engage on-rushing attackers. He is quick, strong and agile but more importantly confident enough to win the duel. Already, he reads a much better upgrade on Eric Dier and Toby Alderweireld, who aren’t as forthcoming and proactive in their approach.
Romero is aided by a superb athletic profile – he is 6’1”, incredibly agile, has an enormous leap (won 67% of his aerial duels last season), and covers the ground quickly.
The Argentine defender typically plays either in the centre or on the right of a three-man defence. It’s unclear as of yet to predict how Santo will set up his Spurs back four, but Romero will prove a valuable and unique addition no matter the defensive setup.
He thrived in a two-man back four at the Copa America against some of the world’s best attackers, so he’d be right at home in the Premier League.
Though, the creativity of the central defender in a three-man defence is often integral in kick-starting attacks, but Romero sometimes lacks the willingness to take on such a burden, often playing too safe – slowing down potential attacks in the process and allowing teams to set up their defensive structure.
He completed 90% of his short passes, whilst also averaging 2.40 progressive passes. As shown through Conor Coady under Nuno Santo, the England international regularly took the responsibility in instigating attacks with his swift long-raking passes for Wolves.
That’s not to say Romero can’t perform them, but to do it at an increased regularity will take some quick learning and maturity in his game if he is to perform Nuno Espirito’s Santo’s instructions to the letter. Who knows, Eric Dier may be asked to fulfil that role in the middle of the back three instead.
It is an element Romero can gradually learn.
In terms of his build-up play, Romero has been known to be very simple, safe but astute. In fact, last season his final third passing average and progressive passes shown some considerable improvement. 1.77 final third passes per90, and 2.40 progressive passes, from 1.57 and 2.10 the following campaign at Genoa.
Whether that’s because of the step up in quality between Genoa and Atalanta could well be a strong factor, though it shows that Romero is capable of stepping up his game when playing with much more quality players around him, as he did at the Copa America.
At Tottenham, that quality will only increase which also means the quality of his performances will increase too. At 23 years of age, Cristian Romero has so much room to improve and grow.
Assuming Tottenham get their man it could well prove to be one of the most astute pieces of business Spurs complete in a long while.
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