After losing Harry Kane last summer, Tottenham Hotspur could be facing another tiresome transfer window when it comes to their biggest stars being linked with moves away from the club.
The Harry Kane saga dragged on last year and eventually led to the England captain departing for Bayern Munich just two days before the season kicked off.
Tottenham will certainly be hoping to avoid a similar scenario this summer with their vice-captain Cristian Romero.
The Argentine enjoyed an excellent season under Ange Postecoglou last time out and it would appear his performances haven’t gone unnoticed.
It was claimed on Wednesday that Spanish giants Real Madrid have made contact over signing Romero this summer.
Now, Football.London’s Spurs correspondent, Alasdair Gold, has delivered his verdict on Madrid’s rumoured interest in the Tottenham star.
Gold on Madrid’s interest in Tottenham star Romero
Speaking on the Last Word on Spurs, Gold was quizzed on recent reports claiming Madrid are keen to land Romero this summer.
The journalist claimed that Postecoglou is a massive fan of the centre-back and it would take an ‘astronomical’ fee to land him.
“I mean, it’s the same every summer though, isn’t it? The Romero stuff, it’s just like so the main guy that everyone was linked with a big move away each summer has gone [Harry Kane] so who do we do next? Romero will do,” Gold said.
“It just kind of feels like we’ve moved on to another one. I thought Spurs might actually escape that this summer but it appears not.
“I’m fascinated to see whether that quickly dies a death or it sticks around all summer or not. But he’s got three years left on his contract, what was he signed for? Roughly £40 million. I mean, his fee would be astronomical, I would imagine that Spurs would ask for because Postecoglou sees him as the leader of that backline. He loves him. He absolutely adores Romero and Romero seems to feel very similar.”
“Romero’s a massive part of what Postecoglou wants to do, the way he brings the ball out of defence,” the journalist added.
“So, Spurs would be absolutely loathed to lose him this summer as well. He seems happy enough, all the noises he’s making seems he’s happy enough.
“Like I said, if Real Madrid were to seriously come in, whether that changes things is another thing. But Spurs, as you say, have got to show all the players they’re moving in the right direction.”
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What Romero has said about his Tottenham future
Back in May, Romero insisted that he isn’t currently thinking about leaving Spurs and is happy in north London.
“The truth is that I’m fine. For now I’m not thinking about that [a transfer], I’m thinking about preparing myself these days to get to the national team in the best way possible, which is the next step I have,” the Tottenham defender said.
“The things that come up at the moment are obviously always analysed but I’m not thinking about the future, I’m thinking about the national team. Now that I have the Copa America, I will always try to take the national team to the top and then we will see what happens.”
Whether or not interest from the biggest club in world football turns Romero’s head remains to be seen.
The 26-year-old would certainly have a decision to make should the 15-time Champions League winners firm up their interest.
But for the time being, it is only speculation linking Romero with a move to the Spanish capital. Madrid will also be fully aware of the difficulty of negotiating with Spurs chairman Daniel Levy after snapping up Gareth Bale and Luka Modric from the north Londoners.