Tottenham must make Cristian Romero to Real Madrid transfer decision amid Ange Postecoglou plan

It would not be a summer at Tottenham Hotspur were it not for a star player being linked with one of the Europe's elite clubs and this time around it looks like it could Cristian Romero's turn.

Despite weeks of positive quotes from the Argentine about his happiness with Ange Postecoglou and Spurs, a report out of his homeland has claimed that Real Madrid have contacted the north London club about the possibility of prising away the 26-year-old World Cup winner this summer.

football.london understands Tottenham are distancing themselves from any such reports linking the player with a move to the Spanish capital. Romero is currently on Argentina duty with Lionel Messi & Co, looking to retain the Copa America, which begins in the United States next Friday with the hosts taking on Canada in Atlanta.

There is a certain irony that this is the summer when Romero is being linked with a move to the Champions League winners because it is the most settled he has been at Tottenham since he arrived from Italian side Atalanta in August 2021, initially on loan before penning a permanent five-year contract the following year.

The 2022/23 season was a difficult one for the centre-back and there were concerns that he might push for a move with the club having gone through a chaotic campaign with Antonio Conte, Cristian Stellini and Ryan Mason all taking charge of the team for spells. Romero claimed last summer that he received approaches to leave Tottenham but rejected them.

"I'm the first to hold my hands up and say it wasn't the best season but when I got offers from other clubs to move away for this coming season, I said no because I want to have my best years here. I really like the Premier League, I really like Tottenham and I want to be here for many more years to come," he said.

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The catalyst for change was Postecoglou. The Australian immediately saw in Romero the spirit, aggression and ability to play on the front foot that he wanted every one of his players to show. He also saw a maturing presence within the squad and a link between the main group and the South American and Spanish-speaking players.

That brought the masterstroke of making Romero one of his vice-captains with James Maddison to support skipper Son Heung-min.

Romero responded exactly as he had hoped, stepping up to become a leader within the team. Previous disciplinary issues on the pitch mostly went away last season, without even a single foul conceded in the early months of the campaign and the red card against Chelsea the only real blot on his copybook all campaign.

That meant high availability for the team other than missing three more games with a small hamstring injury and when Son went to the Asian Cup in January, with Maddison out with an ankle injury, it was Romero who took the lead.

"Romero has really stepped up," the head coach explained that month. "You just feel it around the place. He knows that Sonny's not here and he knows what Sonny does on a daily basis. Sonny gets around everyone in the building and says, 'how you going?' and Cristian's doing that now.

"I can see that. In training he's a lot more vocal than he was in the past. That's the beauty of it. There is a void because you're missing one of your leaders, but for me, on the outside [of the dressing room], you're kind of waiting on, 'is anyone going to step up here? Because we're going to need someone to, or do I need to interject myself into it', but he's stepped up."

Postecoglou and Romero have a strong mutual affection for each other. The Spurs boss sees everything he wants at Tottenham in the centre-back.

After the most recent derby against Arsenal, the Australian said of the defender: "He was outstanding. He's a World Cup winner and I've just got to get some of what's in him into some of the others."

Romero made progress last season in what was his most consistent campaign since joining the club. He led a young backline, guiding Micky van de Ven in his first season in the Premier League, and was a constant threat at the other end of the pitch with his five goals making him the highest scoring defender in the competition.

"Maybe it is a bit of maturity and that he feels comfortable with where he is at. Working with him, he's just an outstanding defender," said Postecoglou. "He is someone you definitely want in your team. Yes he does have that physicality about him, he's a good player as well, his passing range, his ability to really position himself well, to stay calm and then just ridiculous bravery to always put his body in there. He's just an outstanding defender."

When it was put to him that Messi called Romero the best defender in the world, Postecoglou simply said: "He's a good judge."

For his part, the Argentine has found a manager he has huge respect for in the Australian, calling him "a beautiful person" this week while on international duty.

A fortnight ago, Romero was a guest on DSports' Como Te Va back home and again he praised Postecoglou's work and said that he was not thinking about a transfer away from the club and that he was "very happy to be in this present".

In a Spurs interview before the season came to a close he was only looking forward to the next campaign under the Australian.

"Ange has a winning mentality and has totally changed the direction of the club," he said. "When he arrived, he brought everyone together and we all have the same mental attitude and approach, we all share the same ambition to be successful and win things at this club and that is the key.

"We play in an entertaining style and we’re all very happy with the way the manager sets us up and plays. Of course, we’ve had ups and downs this season, a lot has happened. Let’s not forget, we have a young squad with players playing their first season in the Premier League - it’s not easy playing in this league. You don’t just settle in over two or three months, it’s tough.

"But, it’s been a decent first season with this top manager, some inconsistencies, but overall good. I know we couldn’t quite keep the pace up to be battling for the league title, but now we need to try to keep growing and improve in order to be travelling in the proper direction. We must come back stronger next season. The young players will benefit from this first season of experience, and we’ll perform better. Next season is going to be a big one for us."

Romero has become such a key part of Postecoglou's team that any price tag on him would be huge. He was signed for around £42million and has three years left on his contract; in Messi's words, he is the best defender in the world. Would you argue with arguably the best player in history? Chairman Daniel Levy is unlikely to when it comes to the price tag.

The two most expensive defender signings in the game came first when Harry Maguire signed for Manchester United five years ago for just under £80million and then when Josko Gvardiol went to Manchester City for £77million last summer. Romero is unlikely to be priced at anything less than those sort of figures in today's market if Tottenham even were to put a value on a player who Postecoglou has built his defence around.

The Spurs boss was asked last month in Melbourne whether he expected to keep all the players he wants to keep this summer.

"Yeah. There's no indication [otherwise], but all those things are moving parts," he said. "You always understand that things can change really quickly but we've got a plan in place that I'm really comfortable with in terms of incomings and outgoings. Whether that all comes together you just never know but having clarity about what we need to do I think helps the process."

Romero is currently enjoying that process under Postecoglou and has spoken about his excitement at what comes next under the Australian at Tottenham. Real Madrid are the biggest club in world football right now - they would of course be a huge draw for any player - but for Spurs it would be madness to even contemplate such a departure at such a crucial juncture in the Postecoglou era.

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