Euro giants threaten late hijack of Cristian Romero to Inter Milan as Tottenham demands clear
Atletico Madrid are reportedly exploring the conditions of a deal for Tottenham defender Cristian Romero, who Inter Milan are trying to sign, but it’s ‘complicated’ due to the finances.
Romero is the main name set to exit north London this season. His desire to leave has been evident for months, and multiple sides have been credited with interest.
The Tottenham man has been linked with Atletico, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Inter Milan.
It’s Inter who are currently pushing hardest – in club-to-club talks with Spurs as well as having reportedly held talks with Romero’s agents.
But per the Daily Mail, it’s been confirmed that deal will be ‘complicated’ due to the financial package.
That could give Atleti a window to the deal, as it’s said they have rekindled their interest in Romero and are now exploring the figures to land the defender.
Tottenham demands clear
Our friends are TEAMtalk have revealed Tottenham want to make around €50million (£42.8m) from Romero’s exit, while Inter have opened negotiations with a €40million (£34.2m) bid, structured as a loan with an option to buy.
Negotiations are still said to be progressing, with optimism that a compromise can be reached on the price.
It’s Romero’s salary demands which are believed to be causing the biggest issue currently.
He’s believed to be seeking €6.5million (£5.6m) per season, while Inter want to pay closer to €5million (£4.3m).
That tracks with the suggestion that the financial package will complicate a deal to the Serie A giants.
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Whether Atletico will be more willing to pay both what Tottenham and Romero want to receive remains to be seen.
However, it looks very likely that Romero will be heading somewhere from Spurs this summer, and manager Roberto De Zerbi has essentially confirmed as much.
He said: “After the [World Cup] semi-final we text a message, but I never called him to convince him to stay. I respected what he told me. Like for [Guglielmo] Vicario, like for every player.
“Romero as a player is one of the best centre-backs in the world, but at the end I said I want to respect the will of the players.”
For Vicario, too, a move back to Serie A looks likely, as Juventus and Napoli are currently pressing for the signing of the goalkeeper.
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