Tottenham Hotspur should look to turn their attention elsewhere after a frustrating update emerged this week.
According to football.london reporter Alasdair Gold, talks to sign Atalanta centre-back Cristian Romero have “slowed” down due to the Serie A outfit’s financial demands. Reports in Italy suggested that the Serie A outfit are demanding around €60m (£51m) for his signature, whilst La Liga giants Barcelona have been credited with an interest in recent weeks.
Spurs have not splashed out that sort of money since signing Tanguy Ndombele in the summer of 2019 for a club-record £55m, whilst their biggest fee spent on a defender was Davinson Sanchez for £42m.
His performances since then prove why it’s a massive gamble to spend so much on just one player, and as a result, the North Londoners may want to approach this Romero situation with caution.
Should Spurs sign Milenkovic for under £15m?
YES!
NO!
For that money, the North Londoners could seal at least two players in the role, especially amid links to fellow Serie A monster Nikola Milenkovic.
As revealed by The Athletic’s Charlie Eccleshare, Spurs “hold an interest” in the Fiorentina star, and he claims that it would be an easy deal to do as the player would love to play in the Premier League and has less than a year remaining on his current contract.
The reliable journalist also hints that just €15m (£12.5m) would be enough to secure him. That’s a fraction of Romero’s price and he’s arguably just as good.
At just 23, Milenkovic has been likened to Nemanja Vidic, who is arguably one of the greatest to ever do it in the English top-flight.
“Milenkovic is better than Vidic with the ball at his feet, and he is much calmer on the field,” Mozzart journalist Dejan Stankovic told ESPN FC. “He is the most talented centre-back Serbia have had since Vidic, and they definitely have one thing in common – both are fearless.”
The 28-cap Serbian has also been dubbed a “beast“, and during the 2020/21 season, he averaged 3.6 clearances, three aerial duels won, 1.4 tackles and 1.3 interceptions in a worse team than Atalanta, who finished third overall.
By comparison, Romero – who won the Serie A’s ‘Defender of the Year’ award – was only way clear with his averages for tackles and interceptions, but again he played in the more solid team.
For just £12.5m, Spurs sporting director Fabio Paratici could secure a new defender for a bargain fee, especially with Transfermarkt currently valuing him at £22.5m.
The Lilywhites must consider Milenkovic as a bargain alternative to Romero should talks continue to slow down before next month’s deadline.
AND in other news, Paratici must sanction Spurs swoop for 6ft 3 “leader”, he’s a HUGE upgrade on Sanchez…