Cristian Romero is moving closer to a £34million transfer from Tottenham Hotspur to Atletico Madrid, with the Spanish club on the verge of beating Arsenal, Inter Milan and Barcelona to the Spurs captain, according to Daily Mail Sport.
The two clubs are still a few million pounds apart on the fixed fee, and the bonus structure has yet to be agreed. Atletico's pull, driven by coach Diego Simeone, is understood to make the Spanish side Romero's preferred destination over the other interested clubs.
Atletico are also in the process of selling defender Nahuel Molina to Roma for £14.5million, with Molina having already arrived in Italy to complete the move. Aston Villa, meanwhile, are finalising a £16million deal for Atletico left-back Matteo Ruggeri.
Arsenal contact rebuffed
Daily Mail Sport understands that Premier League champions Arsenal contacted Romero's agents to discuss a potential deal, but Tottenham are unaware of the Gunners' interest and would not be willing to sell the 28-year-old to their north London rivals. Inter Milan have agreed a £34million fee with Spurs but have not settled personal terms with Romero.
Romero is free to leave Tottenham for the right price after the club strengthened its defence earlier in the transfer window, signing Marcos Senesi on a free transfer and John Paul van Hecke from Brighton for £52million. Those additions have left manager Roberto de Zerbi well stocked at the back.
Selling the club captain to arch-rivals Arsenal would be deemed completely unacceptable by Tottenham supporters, and the club would not countenance it. Arsenal are considering defensive reinforcements after William Saliba suffered a back injury at the World Cup that will keep him out for months.
Five years at Spurs
Romero has spent five years at Tottenham since joining from Atalanta and was at the heart of Argentina's defence under Lionel Scaloni as they beat England in the World Cup semi-final before losing 1-0 to Spain in the final last month.
He came close to leaving Spurs before, notably after Ange Postecoglou's departure, and suffered a knee injury last season during Tottenham's fight to avoid relegation, leaving the pitch in tears during a 1-0 defeat by Sunderland. De Zerbi kept Spurs up without him, and Romero recovered in time to play for Argentina.
Romero was criticised for celebrating in the faces of opponents during the World Cup and snubbed US President Donald Trump after the final, walking past him without shaking his hand after collecting his runners-up medal from FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
