The Argentine footballer moved to Spurs from Atlanta last August, with the selling club announcing it would be initially on loan until the end of the season.
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Tottenham Hotspur boss Antonio Conte has confirmed that Spurs will make central defender Christian Romero’s loan move from Atalanta permanent in a deal reportedly worth over EUR 50 million. The Argentine footballer moved to Spurs from the Serie A side last August, with the selling club announcing it would be initially on loan until the end of the season. The 23-year-old was one of Sporting director Fabio Paratici’s first signings at the club after he was appointed in the summer but he has struggled for game-time under Conte because of a long-term injury.
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Antonio Conte confirms: “Cristian Romero will be our player on a permanent deal in June. He’s on loan but we have an obligation to buy. We already bought him from Atalanta”. ⚪️?? #THFC
“Romero’s perfect for Premier League football”, Conte added as per @Dan_KP. #Spurs pic.twitter.com/rfmodt3uR6
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) February 8, 2022
Romero got himself sent off in Conte’s first game as Spurs manager, in the 3-2 Europa Conference League win over Vitesse on 4 November, and then played the 90 minutes of the 0-0 Premier League draw at Everton.
After that, he tore a hamstring in international duty and was sidelined for a long period. The 23-year-old made his return in the 3-1 FA Cup win against Brighton and Hove Albion at the Weekend. Spurs advanced to the fifth round of the competition.
He was exceptional in the defense, having made four successful tackles, two interceptions and five clearances as well as having a 97.1 percent passing accuracy. His display was almost as if he had never been out of the field. As per SofaScore, he won 75% of his duels.
Playing in the middle of the back three alongside Ben Davies and Davinson Sanchez, Romero showed aggression and at the same time maintained a calm head to organise the backline. He was also very good with his positioning.
“I think the club bought him. I think so,” he said. “He’s on loan but we have an obligation to buy. We bought him!”
Earlier Conte had told football.london that Romero was “an important player for me and the team”, before adding: “He’s strong physically, he has the timing to anticipate, good personality to play with the ball. Despite being a young player he has good experience, he’s strong and I like him. For sure, he has a lot of space for improvement.”
When asked whether the Argentine was made for a physical competition like the Premier League, the Italian nodded in agreement.
“Yeah. He is perfect for this league, but if you can play in this league you can play in all the leagues in the world,” he said.
“The problem is when you stay in another league, you have to ask if you can play in the Premier League. When you play here, you can play in any league in the world, because the intensity, the quality, the physicality that you have here is not present in other leagues. For sure Romero is able to play in this league. This league is a perfect suit for him.”
“Romero is a really good defender and is a good signing for the club and he is very good but don’t forget that his injury was on one hand a problem for me, for the team,” said the Spurs boss.
“On another hand it was a great opportunity to improve, to develop players that maybe if Romero was fit couldn’t play or didn’t play. Tanganga … it was the same for Sanchez, for Davies.
“In the difficulty of his injury we have found other players that can be good to give us good performances and defensively to be complete as a player but I’m happy about my defenders. Happy because now the players stay here and I can count on them.”
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