MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 07: Cristian Romero of Tottenham Hotspur looks on as he walks off the pitch after being shown a red card during the ...
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 07: Cristian Romero of Tottenham Hotspur looks on as he walks off the pitch after being shown a red card during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford on February 07, 2026 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)
Tottenham Hotspur’s Cristian Romero appears to be on the way to Atletico Madrid, despite his camp pushing a possible move across north London to Arsenal.
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 07: Cristian Romero of Tottenham Hotspur looks dejected after being shown a red card during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford on February 07, 2026 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 07: Cristian Romero of Tottenham Hotspur looks dejected after being shown a red card during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford on February 07, 2026 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)
Starting with some good news, Fabrizio Romano reports that Atletico Madrid and Tottenham Hotspur are very close to an agreement in the region of €40m for the transfer of Cristian Romero.
Romano adds that Romero has given the green light to Atletico, and that Arsenal were never a realistic option, as Tottenham refused to consider selling to their local rivals.
Inter Milan were reportedly much closer to the deal, but their lack of exits means they can’t move forward with the transfer addition.
LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 06: Referee Michael Oliver shows a red card to Cristian Romero of Tottenham Hotspur during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea FC at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on November 06, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 06: Referee Michael Oliver shows a red card to Cristian Romero of Tottenham Hotspur during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea FC at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on November 06, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
Whilst Spurs were clearly very much against selling to Arsenal, the player’s camp certainly didn’t shut the possibility down.
On the contrary, both Arsenal insider HandofArsenal and Spurs insider Paul O’Keefe report that the player was very open to joining, with O’Keefe repeatedly suggesting Romero’s camp held talks with the Gunners.
O’Keefe previously broke the news of Romero’s new Spurs contract, so the information about the player’s openness to joining Arsenal is seemingly well-sourced.
LONDON, ENGLAND: Christian Romero of Tottenham Hotspur reacts ahead of Mikel Arteta, Manager of Arsenal during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur FC and Arsenal FC at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on September 15, 2024. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND: Christian Romero of Tottenham Hotspur reacts ahead of Mikel Arteta, Manager of Arsenal during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur FC and Arsenal FC at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on September 15, 2024. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
If Spurs had been open to it, it may well have been a move that came to fruition. Thankfully, the club shut it down, and the player with zero Premier League wins in 2026 will now look for his first domestic victory of the calendar year in Spain.
LONDON, ENGLAND: Cristian Romero of Tottenham Hotspur during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur FC and Arsenal FC at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on September 15, 2024. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND: Cristian Romero of Tottenham Hotspur during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur FC and Arsenal FC at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on September 15, 2024. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
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