Both Tottenham Hotspur and Barcelona are interested in signing Atalanta‘s Cristian Romero, but according to reports in Spain, the La Liga giants can only take him on loan.
Romero was named the best Serie A defender in 2020-21, attracting interest from many top European clubs.
Tottenham and Barcelona are the most interested clubs in securing his services, but according to multiple reports, Atalanta won’t sell for less than €55-60m.
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Romero had joined La Dea from Juventus on a two-year loan deal with an option to buy for €16m.
They’ve paid just €2m for the player’s loan.
Tottenham have submitted a €45m bid plus add-ons, which is still not enough for Atalanta.
🔴🔵⚽ El central argentino gusta en el club azulgrana pero a día de hoy no puede afrontar una inversión por él
✍ @sergisoleMDhttps://t.co/oHchOsPZOQ
— Mundo Deportivo (@mundodeportivo) July 29, 2021
Barcelona have also submitted an official offer to sign the 23-year-old, but according to Mundo Deportivo, they can only sign the Argentina international on loan with an option to buy.
Barcelona are facing financial issues due to the COVID pandemic and need to sell some of their players to free up wages and extend Leo Messi’s contract.
According to the report, Barcelona can’t invest a lot of money to sign the player on a permanent deal this summer.
EXCL 🚨Scende in campo anche il #Barcelona per #Romero. 🇦🇷 Oggi è stata presentata la prima proposta all’#Atalanta. Come anticipato i #blaugrana fanno sul serio per il difensore argentino fortemente richiesto anche dal #Tottenham. #THFC
— Gianluigi Longari (@Glongari) July 28, 2021
As of today, Tottenham appear to be in pole position for Romero, but Spurs would need to match Atalanta’s requests to secure the services of the former Genoa man.