BREAKING: Tottenham captain Romero U-turns back to London for final day relegation shoot-out | OneFootball

Ollie Whitmore, Chief football news reporter

Tottenham captain Cristian Romero has reportedly arrived back in London for his side’s final day fixture against Everton in their relegation shootout with rivals West Ham.

The Argentine, who is currently sidelined with a knee ligament injury, initially planned to fly out to his home country to watch boyhood club Belgrano take on River Plate in their title decider while Spurs fight for their Premier League status.

Romero was heavily criticized by fans online, despite manager Roberto De Zerbi lauding the centre-back as a “great captain” just day before they caught wind of his plans to be absent from the Tottenham Hostpur Stadium on a pivotal day in their history.

But the skipper has appeared to have committed to a last-minute U-turn in response to the anger, and will be present to watch his side do battle with Everton, who they must beat to avoid being leapfrogged by the Hammers and be relegated from the top flight for the first time in nearly half a century.

Romero’s initial decision was labelled “frankly extraordinary” by The Spurs Express, a Tottenham-dedicated X account with over 239,000 followers in backlash against their captain.

The post read: “Inexplicable and frankly extraordinary that the club Captain of Tottenham Hotspur won’t be in attendance for one of the biggest games in the history of the Football Club,” read the post.

“Dereliction of duty is an understatement.”

Spurs Army, an account with a following north of 31,000 supporters, went further by using the word “embarrassment” in describing that the 28-year-old defender had ever played for the club.

Spurs, 17th in the table, have endured a torrid season and have the power to avoid disaster by picking up maximum points, having last dropped down in the 1976/77 campaign – a time when the competition was called the First Division.

For a full report, reaction, and analysis to Spurs’ tie against Everton, and the rest of the day’s action across the Premier League, visit our website or OneFootball page.