Cristian Romero has thanked Atalanta as he flew out to London for his medical and €55m transfer. ‘Tottenham Hotspur wanted me from the first day.’
The defender already had the first part of his medical in Italy and will be in England this evening to finalise the move.
Spurs are going to pay €50m plus up to another €5m in add-ons to purchase the Argentina international from Atalanta.
“I want to thank Atalanta and assure you that you have one more fan cheering you on from London,” Romero told Sky Sport Italia.
“Tottenham wanted me from the first day, now I have to repay them on the field. I liked the project that have for me and this is why I chose Tottenham.
“I am happy to have made a new choice, I’m also very happy for the year that I spent in Bergamo. I’m sorry to leave, but I have to think about my career and hope this is a good decision.
“I must continue to grow.”
The 23-year-old had come to Serie A for Genoa in 2018, then sold within a year to Juventus for €26m, but remained at Marassi on loan.
Without playing a single minute of football for the Bianconeri, he was sent to Atalanta in 2020 on a two-year loan with option to buy for a total €18m.
That means Atalanta have almost tripled their investment in the player after one year.
“I was almost ready to quit football three years ago, but Serie A really helped me to improve and Gian Piero Gasperini made me get stronger in a way I never would’ve thought, so I thank everyone,” he added.
Atalanta will replace Romero with another Juventus defender, Merih Demiral, who arrives on loan for €2.5m with option to buy for €25m and a percentage of any future transfer fee.
👉 #Romero inizia la sua avventura al #Tottenham: il difensore in partenza per Londra pic.twitter.com/UaUIWeIjRg
— TUTTOmercatoWEB (@TuttoMercatoWeb) August 5, 2021
“Grazie #Atalanta,a Londra avrai un tifoso in più. Il #Tottenham mi ha voluto dal primo giorno,devo ripagarli sul campo.Tre anni fa stavo quasi per smettere,il campionato italiano mi ha fatto crescere”:parole e immagini di #Romero in partenza per Londra su @SkySport @DiMarzio ✈️ pic.twitter.com/Tuvt6Tg2Yt
— Marco Bovicelli (@MarcoBovicelli) August 5, 2021