Atletico Madrid to open talks with Tottenham Hotspur for star man – €60m asking price | OneFootball

Atletico Madrid intend to open talks with Tottenham Hotspur for their star defender Cristian Romero, who played a key role in ending their trophy drought against Manchester United in the Europa League. Los Colchoneros are keen to bring Romero in before the Club World Cup.

As such, they intend to open talks with Spurs, and it may well be this week, say Sky Sports. Given the improvised transfer window will close on the 10th of June, they have 13 days to get a deal done if they do want him available for their trip to the United States. It is not yet clear whether Spurs Chairman Daniel Levy is open to having those conversations.

Tottenham value Romero at €70m

Atletico have identified Romero as one of their top targets, and after opening talks with Villarreal for Alex Baena, will move for the Argentina internaitonal. CEO Miguel Angel Gil Marin is expected to take charge of the negotiations for Atletico.

Image via Catherine Ivill – AMA/GettyImages

One of the stumbling blocks may be the price. Tottenham value Romero at more than €60m report the British outlet, while Atletico are hoping to pay around €45m for the 27-year-old. That said, some reports claim that Spurs will ask for around €70m.

Romero and Postecoglou view on move

Romero has recently expressed a desire to play in Spain, which many took as a hint he was open to a move to Atletico. However manager Ange Postecoglou recently stated publicly that he wanted to retain Romero.

“Yes, we have to make sure players like him stay. If he leaves, who do you replace him with? There aren’t many like him. It will be very important for the club to try to keep him, and do so for the long term,” Postecoglou said, as quoted by Diario AS.

Atletico Madrid investing big again this summer

With the potential signings of Romero and Baena, it would represent a second consecutive summer of big spending for Los Colchoneros. Last time round they spent €34.5m on Spain international Robin Le Normand, and their total investment was close to €200m, including the additions of Conor Gallagher, Alexander Sorloth and Julian Alvarez.