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Tottenham Hotspur’s Cristian Romero ‘very close’ to joining ‘this’ team. Cristian Romero’s move away from Tottenham looked all but settled to Inter Milan only days ago. It now appears to be heading to Atletico Madrid instead, with Diego Simeone’s side agreeing personal terms with the Argentine on a four-year contract after Inter’s own negotiations broke down over his wage demands. The collapse of the Inter deal came down to money rather than any change of heart from either club. Inter had a package worth up to €40m in place with Tottenham, essentially matching what had looked like a formality only for the deal to stall on personal terms, with Romero reportedly wanting close to €6m a year and Inter unwilling to meet it. Atletico moved decisively into that gap, agreeing terms in line with what Romero currently earns at Tottenham, which removes the exact obstacle that sank Inter’s pursuit. Their opening offer to Spurs is expected to be in the region of €30m, likely rising toward the fee Inter had already agreed, with the move partly contingent on Atletico completing sales of their own, Nahuel Molina and possibly Matteo Ruggeri among them, to fund the deal. Milan to Madrid Barcelona had been Romero’s preference for much of the summer, and he was even willing to lower his own salary demands to help make that move happen. It never came together, with Barcelona’s attention remaining fixed on a pursuit of Julian Alvarez instead, and Romero has since shifted his priority to whichever concrete offer materialised first. None of this changes the underlying outcome for Tottenham, who have long accepted Romero’s departure and reinforced accordingly with Van Hecke and Senesi already through the door. Thanks to Cuti Romero for his services at Tottenham Hotspur, as a player and captain, but in recent weeks before the end of last season, it proved to be tough for the club to manage his off-field antics, repeat cycle of injuries, persistent transfer speculation and, overall, his disciplinary issues. At his best, Romero is one of the Premier League’s elite centre-backs. He was instrumental in Tottenham’s Europa League success and has often been the team’s defensive leader. Replacing a defender of his calibre is far from guaranteed. But time to move on.