Tottenham have completed the signing of Cristian Romero from Atalanta for €55m and Louis Miller discusses whether the Argentinean is worth his price tag.
Back in April, amidst a backdrop of a financial crisis caused by the pandemic, many fans in England took to the streets to protest the prospect of the European Super League.
Fast forward four months and the economic doom still looms over much of Europe, except for the Premier League. English clubs are flexing their muscles while other traditional European powerhouses desperately try to make ends meet. Tottenham Hotspur’s €55m move for Atalanta defender Cristian Romero suggests that a European Super League has been formed, after all, the Premier League.
The fee Tottenham have paid for Romero, although it may seem a little high, is simply a figure that Premier League teams can afford. It might seem crazy to fans of Serie A that in the summer, the champions are forced to sell their most prized assets to survive; a team in the European Conference League can break the bank on a relative gamble. However, this is the reality.
That is no disrespect to Romero. The Argentinean has no control over the fee a club is willing to pay. Fresh from lifting the Copa America in July and an impressive debut campaign with Atalanta, the player is bound to command a hefty fee.
The 23-year-old was ever-present in an Atalanta side that finished in the top four for a third successive season. His performances were enough for him to be voted Serie A defender of the year 2020-21, ahead of Stefan de Vrij, Alessandro Bastoni and Milan Skriniar, who only conceded 35 goals between them on their way to lift the Scudetto, the fewest in the league.
In the past, Tottenham have been reportedly prepared to depart with around €45m to secure Skriniar’s signature: a player in his prime, arguably a more well-rounded defender fresh from winning Serie A, and seemingly less of a gamble. In comparison, it would appear Spurs are overpaying for the Argentine.
Although when looking at other moves in England, the figure seems to add up. Raphael Varane is set to sign for Manchester United from Real Madrid for a deal in the region of €45m. The figure seems low for a World Cup and multiple Champions League winner, but the Frenchman was entering the final year of his contract at Real Madrid and risked leaving for nothing next summer.
In the same window, Arsenal paid Brighton €50m for Ben White, a player with two England caps, one season of Premier League experience, and one year cutting his teeth with Bielsa’s Leeds in the Championship.
On the other hand, there is no doubting how much Romero has impressed since he made his Serie A debut after signing for Genoa in 2018-19. He was a rare bright light in a disappointing season for the Ligurian club, who narrowly avoided relegation. His performances caught the eye of Juventus, who splashed out €26m to bring him to Turin, but he never made an appearance for the club. A second season at Genoa, this time on loan, and another relegation battle led to a move to Atalanta.
Under Gasperini, the Argentine has been allowed to flourish. Usually occupying the centre of a back three, the strong and pacey defender has proved well suited to his side’s aggressive defending.
“I’ve never thought I could improve so much,” Romero said before leaving for London on Thursday.
He ranked 5th in Serie A for successful pressures (173) – the number of times a player regained possession within 5 seconds of his team losing it – and 5th for the number of pressures applied within his own defensive third (226), according to fbref.com.
It remains to be seen if he will adapt to Nuno Espirito Santo’s system quite as well. With Wolves, the Portuguese coach lined up with a back three, more often than not, but his teams often sat in a low block and broke from deep. Romero is accustomed to playing in a three-man defence, but with Gasperini, he learned how to press high up the pitch. However, if given the time, Romero is still very young and will have plenty of time to adapt.
One of the many negative impacts a significant transfer fee brings is time. Many players seem weighed down by the heavy price tag around their neck and in England, these prices only seem to be getting higher. As a result, the players are given less chance to prove they are worth it. But in Romero, Spurs sign one of the best emerging defenders in Europe. Fabio Paratici is aware of that, having signed him twice (first at Juventus and then at Tottenham) in less than three years. Give him time and Romero will prove his worth.